Hard to Forget - Book Review

I recently finished reading Hard to Forget: an Alzheimer's Story by Charlie Pierce.

I don't usually read medical non-fiction. But having recently reconnected with a grammar school friend, we were talking about our high school buddies. Charlie and I grew up in the same town, close to each other, and for some of the early years of high school, we often walked to school together. I have been reading Charlie's stuff [off and on] for over 50 years. He wrote {for publication} in high school, and I would sometimes see his work in other places in more recent years. And, oh yes, this is *the* Charlie Pierce of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me."

I have some vivid memories of Charlie's mother, but for me, his dad was a shadowy figure at best.

Part of what I enjoyed was recalling some of the scenery and geography of town.

This is a heart-wrenching, vividly told, brutally honest story. Charlie mixes his information gathering about this debilitating disease with how he and his family reacted to the progression of the illness. Everything from denial, to doing everything possible to help his dad.

It received excellent reviews when it was first published.

I am glad that I read it. In my professional life, "my" division of ALA includes a group of folks who provide services to those suffering from dementia and  their caregivers. As we baby boomers age, this will become an increasingly important service for public libraries to offer.

Norman Horrocks

Norman Horrocks died in mid October.

I am still devastated about Norman's death.

How often do you find me speechless, never mind that Janet Swan Hill is also speechless?

Norman was, in every sense of the word, a gentleman. He was a man who was incredibly gentle and nice. While I cannot claim to know him incredibly well, I never saw him say a really cross word, and never, even when chastising me, did he not have a gentle look of kindness in his eyes.

I am not sure that I can pinpoint when I first met Norman, but I heard of him at the beginning of my career as a librarian. Perhaps because Michael Gorman taught my "Intro to Librarianship" course and it was around the time that Norman when to Scarecrow Press.

I do know, that when I first was being oriented to ALA Council (back in the mid 1990s), my predecessor as the Connecticut Library Association Chapter Councilor talked about him.

Early on, I made my presence known on ALA Council. (I was the one who used the phrase "core values" on the floor of Council in a debate about a resolution on outsourcing in Hawai'i which resulted in two task forces, and finally a policy.)

Norman was most kind in offering comments about wording and the process suggested.

Jessamyn West (one of my Web/Library 2.0 heroes) posted a great reflection on the man.