Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Yikes! A scary New Page
Parkinson's, to paraphrase a well-known quip, is not for sissies. It's not for dummies either. Here is the most recent page in my attempt to adapt this blog into a brawling, sprawling blockbuster graphic novelesque look at Parkinson's Disease. We are up to page 36, I'm guessing the final length will be about 100. Your feedback welcome!
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8 comments:
LOVE the book so far
....sad day losing Bil Keane
Don
This is the first pages that's left me feeling like something is missing. I;m not sure what it is. I feel like the first two images make sense and it's so true that the idea of "fighting" PD for 30-40 years isn't exactly inspiring. Maybe its that you absolutely can fight a force (examples would be depression or addiction). I agree it's like battling a phantom,but the image of the tormenting ghost doesn't come to mind for me. I like the image of the fact that there is Nothing to fight... just nothing, since it's inside the body and what is missing is irreplacable. It really may just be that it feels a little wordy like you don't know exactly what you're trying to say.
I'm not good at giving constructive criticism :) If all this isn't making sense just blow it off and keep going. I truly feel you've got a masterpiece on your hands.
Don, thanks, and yes, I am sad to say goodbye to Bil Keane. I remember buying some books of his illustrated puns back in grade school. It helped introduce me to to the joys and horrors lurking in the use of language.
Elizabeth, What, me wordy? Thanks for believing that this matters enough to criticize it. My concern is that this frequently used metaphor tends to be a default way of thinking about a problem. Once chosen as the way we frame our perception of the problem, it sets our thinking on a certain path that tends to exclude other possibly more fruitful ways of thinking about the problem. Which is the subject of the next few pages...
Best regards,
Peter
Peter, do you remember the beginning of Terminator 2 where Sarah Conner is in the prison or mental hospital? She has spent all the time since the end of the first movie preparing for the inevitable return of Terminator. She has physically transformed from the soft, pretty, young woman she had been to a muscular, strong, fast fighter who stands a chance of being able to protect her son. She hasn't been fighting. She has been preparing for the coming battle. She knows she has little chance of victory but she also knows that if she doesn't get ready, she stands no chance.
I think that is what life with Parkinson's is like. We know what is coming. We know it is bad. We know we are not going to win. We are preparing for parkinson's next incursion, though, because we are never giving in without a fight. We don't have to fight every day, but by preparing, with exercise, medication, and awareness, we stand ready.
I can't wait to see what you do in the next few pages. You communicate so clearly the way Parkinson's affects the body and the spirit. Your honesty gives me strength.
Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving,
Adele
"We know what is coming. We know it is bad. We know we are not going to win". Your clear-eyed summary of our lot is brave and has the ring of truth. In fact, it is true for all of us in this cruel, crazy and beautiful world. Nobody gets out of her alive. With PD it only becomes more obvious. The necessity of bringing meaning and joy to each day is more clearly defined for us, even as it becomes more difficult. That is the struggle I am committed to. Notes like yours make it easier.
Thanks for that, and I know you will make the most of this holiday.
Best wishes,
Peter
And thanks to Johnny Clegg for the phrase "Cruel, crazy, beautiful world".
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