I have been busy at home here with gardening, childcare, office work, and craft­ing. I nevertheless decided to make some time and read some books that I had been interested in for some time now.

I am glad that I did spend some quality time reading, in between other activities. Perhaps the fact that we are near the summer solstice now and thus have a lot of daylight makes it easier on the eyes to read! By reading just a chapter or two a day, one can finish a book in about two weeks.

I am in a book club from October to April, and therefore often read books other people selected. However, in the summer, it is more about what I want to read.

Here are some books suggestions that I think both patients and caregivers might enjoy and find relevant to their situation. All of the books are available in my public library, so hopefully you can obtain them easily as well.

‘A Lucky Life Interrupted’ by Tom Brokaw (Random House, 2015)

Tom Brokaw is an award-winning journalist and author who has homes in New York and Montana. Although this biography of Tom Brokaw’s battle with multiple myeloma was published only two years ago, it seems like I read it a long time ago. It was a revelation to me to have such a good writer describe a lot of what I had been though as well. He also suffered compression fractures, for one thing.

Many Beacon readers may have read this book in 2015 when it was first published, but I thought that some newer readers might like to read it also.

I gave this book to my father and my (late) stepmother. They both read it and said that they could now better understand what I had been going through at the time of diagnosis. Thus, I think this book is a good read for caregivers as well as patients.

I found that I could relate to Mr. Brokaw’s comments about how he suddenly had to realize that he no longer had the strength he once had. For example, opening heavy doors to buildings in a strong wind was now very difficult to do. He has had a very strong support network of family and friends, which helped him im­mense­ly on his cancer journey.

‘Enjoy Every Sandwich’ by Lee Lipsenthal (Crown Archetype, 2011)

I also re-read this book, which was highly recommended by the late Jan Stafl, a physician and multiple myeloma patient who posted frequently at the Myeloma Beacon, and who I met when Jan and his family traveled through Calgary.

The premise of Dr. Lipsenthal's book is that no matter how dire one’s prognosis with an illness may be, it is important to try to live a joyful life nonetheless. Dr. Lipsenthal, an internist, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He had a loving family, which helped him with the collapse of his previously busy professional life. He did not want to live in fear, and used meditation to help him with that. He accepted a ‘shadow side’ of himself where his imagination had free rein. He started to wonder whether an encounter with a rattlesnake on a hiking path might be a sign from a Higher Power. From the native American shamanistic beliefs, he learned that a very close brush with death may result in a spiritual re-awakening. The shaman’s role is not to heal, but to let Spirit in to do the healing. This is an interesting and poignant tale told by a very intelligent man who faced down at least some of his fears in the short amount of time he had to deal with his terminal cancer.

‘Being Mortal’ by Atul Gawande (Penguin Random House, 2014)

Dr. Gawande is a brilliant writer, covering topics that he has learned about through his profession as a physician. Many case studies from his own experience are included in the book to emphasize the points he is trying to make. He also has included his family in the book, detailing what his father went through with a type of cancer.

Dr. Gawande noticed that many patients had unnecessarily difficult times at the end of their lives. Some­times medical science pushes too hard for people who cannot recover from their health issues. Some­times the medical staff hesitates to have the conversation about what to do if all treat­ments have failed. He started to explore the areas of palliative and hospice care. By talking with his patients personally, he dis­covered that many of them did not want anything more than to be sur­rounded by their loved ones, and be in some comfort at the end of their life.

This may sound to be a gloomy book, but it raises questions about the modern society that we live in, and what is best for patients and families. I learned a lot about palliative care from reading Dr. Gawande’s book, and I would there­fore recommend it to both patients and caregivers.

‘Walking’ by John Stanton (Penguin Canada, 2009)

John Stanton has helped many people to take up running and walking through his chain of fitness stores. I picked up a copy of his book about walking because I started doing it after my multiple myeloma diagnosis (I used to be a jogger, but I stopped after my myeloma diagnosis because I was afraid of getting more fractures in my damaged bones).

This book is easy to read and encouraging to any level of walker, be they just starting out walking around the block, or into race walking. The book covers all aspects of walking, from what type of shoes and equipment to use in all kinds of weather, to interval training, nutrition, injury prevention and care, cross training, and more. This is the most comprehensive book I ever read about walking. You can’t help but want to get out for a good walk after reading Stanton’s writing.

‘Best Laid Plans’ by Terry Fallis (McClelland and Stewart, 2008)

My last recommendation makes for some lighter summer reading. Terry Fallis is a humorist and has twice won the Stephen Leacock prize for humor in Canada.

In his debut novel, ‘Best Laid Plans,’ Fallis explores the world of federal elections. A young man who is working as a political aide resigns his post, but as a favor agrees to run one last campaign in the upcoming Canadian federal election. An elderly lady, who is a long-time political worker but also reluctant to do any campaigning at all, is persuaded to join the team. The candidate in the campaign is a crusty engineering professor who does not want to teach English to first-year engineering students, and thus agrees to run in the upcoming election as long as he will lose it, and as long as the young political aide will take over teaching the English class.

As you can imagine, this book is just rife with comedic elements, and will leave you chuckling.

Well, the birds are chirping outdoors in the early morning, and I am going to get outdoors for a walk.

Do you already know what you are going to read this summer?

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The quotation for this month is from Mark Haddon (1962 - ), a British novelist, who said: "Reading is a conversation. All books talk. But a good book listens as well."