Memoirs

Memoirs make wonderful reading. They allow us to examine our own lives through the lens of those exploring similar circumstances who have found the language to share intimate experiences with their readers. I have lots of Memoirs on my Kindle and always seek them out when visiting the library or searching for books to order for my talking book machine. 

Yesterday, grounded due to toothache I started, and finished, a short memoir called Focus.   

A very short memoir, Ingrid Ricks relates her journey with Retinitis Pigmentosa which is an inherited eye condition in which the sight gradually deteriorates until all the central vision has gone. Ingrid is the author of several memoirs but this one is poignant as she tells a story simply, a journey so many of us have lived either with RP or other similar eye diseases. Only 96 pages, Focus is a beautifully written story I will read again.


This book is the next to be read on my Kindle. I am always inspired by people who halt their lives and take off to explore the world or choose a new way to live, follow a dream to enter the unknown from a new crossroads. I am sure The Wander Year will inspire me and again lead me to consider the changes I need to make this year as I stand at my own crossroad.

Many books are begun and rejected, returned to the library, deleted or never opened. As one ages I am sure we become more selective and do not want to waste one precious minute on a book which is not going to enhance our lives.