You Should Read This

Jessamyn West's book is about how she learned to say yes to life and how she helped her sister Carmen say yes to death.

The subject matter is depressing but the story is anything but. It's inspiring and thought provoking both from the standpoint of the writer who we see suffering from what should have been a fatal case of tuberculosis and later how she helps her sister deal with cancer.

You also see the unconventional mother whose own family history helps her want to live, or rather helps her to make the choice to live. The mother that also reminds us that the dying is easy....it's living that takes work....in these words

"Dying is a short horse, soon curried. Living is a horse of a different color and bigger."

This book is hard to put down even in the moments when your eyes fill with tears for the struggles the women are facing. You'll not waste a moment to wipe your eyes, because Jessamyn writes of her life with such eloquence and emotion that you feel your right there with her as she tells her story. To move or become distracted would be an insult.

Take the journey with her. It will be one that you won't forget and you might even find you take away a bit of her family's wisdom when you finally turn the last page.