Escape through Reading

Since the first of August I have had 13 doctor appointments including the three cataract surgeries (one aborted.)  There are two more appointments coming up in the next two weeks.  May that be the blessed end of it!  Most of those were related to the cataract issue which is not resolved at all.  Unrelated to that I have had to cut out one very helpful medication due to the complicating side effect of a rapid heart beat.  That was scary but has definitely eased up.  I don't think I will cancel the cardiologist referral next week however.

Since both eyes have had the corrective surgeries, I have been unable to drive.  I did it a few times and did not feel safe.  My vision is very blurry.  I guess I will still need glasses but if it will give me better sight I will give up my vanity in thinking I would go without glasses for the first time in years.  I'll give up my plans for eye makeup!  Meanwhile Jim has had to drive me on my errands and volunteer activities and probably will have to do so for two more weeks.

But I am able to read sometimes even without the $10 reading glasses I bought at Target in preparation for this time.  And in the middle of this stress and discomfort, I have read two series of books that have been easy reads,  great distractions and really worthwhile.

The first series was four volumes called Journey Through the Night written by Anne de Vries, a Dutch writer commissioned to write a story for children  to remember the trauma of World War II in the Netherlands.  Although written for children, the subject matter would be disturbing for young ones as it told of hiding fugitives, incarceration, and miserable living conditions.  These exciting books made me want to read more about the resistance movement in the Netherlands and to admire the courage and faith of those involved in it. I found these books in our church library.  They are out of print so they are not available easily in English at least.

Then this week I read all three novels by Trudy Nan Boyce--Volumes 1 and 2 and a prequel.  Boyce was a 30 year veteran of the Atlanta Police Department and her novels follow the career of Sarah Alt--also known as Salt.  Salt is a complicated heroine whose own father was a policeman and who committed suicide on her 10th birthday.  She worked in the same area he once patrolled--the Homes, a public housing project.  Ten years later she is made a homicide detective and some of the same people she worked with in the Homes cross her path again as victims and as "perps."  Boyce knows Atlanta and she knows police work.  Many refer to these books as "gritty" and they are but they are also compassionate, romantic, and full of humanity.  Boyce writes about the racism that exists in a modern Southern city and the long lasting effects of slave owning.   I am eager for another book in the series--I hope one is planned.

I haven't been able to drive and some yard work has been forbidden.  I have lost my zeal for purging stuff in the house.  We don't even know if we can make our planned trip to the Hudson River Valley and the East coast families. It has been postponed once. But my reading has been a joy.  I have been to the Netherlands and to Atlanta and am grateful for those fascinating distractions.

Update later--we cancelled the trip to visit the east coast--due to the eye issue and the fact that the cardiologist advised against a long car trip.
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An update from my exchange with Trudy Nan Boyce:

Mary Vanderkam		Fri, Oct 12, 9:51 AM (1 day ago)
I hope there is a fourth book in the works. I am almost done with Old Bones and would be so sad if I could not read more about Salt!

tnandubois@aol.com	Fri, Oct 12, 3:38 PM (1 day ago)
to me

Hi Mary,

I am so glad that the series is resonating with you! Salt is taking a break while I work on another "stand-alone" novel. The best part of being a writer is, after the writing itself, when a reader connects with the story. Thank you for letting me know you like the work.

Trudy