Will I Hear Your Voice Today?

 

I was reading How We Die by Nuland. 

Near the back he talks about the progression from the family doctor to the specialist. The main difference, he says, is how specialists have dissociated from their patients. He describes what he calls The Riddle, the patient's illness and how solving it has become the focus. The patient is just a "thing" in need of fixing, and she, the specialist, has the tools. 

Close by he gives a several-pages-long description of what a well-lived life might look like, citing Maurice Herzog and his ascent of Annapurna as an example. 

Among the team was a film-maker, Marcel Ichac. This 15-minute segment on Youtube is Part 1, in French without subtitles.

I think it was also in How We Die that I saw mention of The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen. 

Matthiessen had recently lost his wife to breast cancer and when he left to go climbing, he told his 12-year-old son he'd be home for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure, but I seem to recall he didn't make it.

 In all three books each author acknowledges that NOTHING but the relationships matter....except, of course, the landscapes, the birds, flowers, animals (maybe not ticks).

Will I hear your voice today?

ADDENDUM: 13.Dec.2022

In March of 2020, seven months before I wrote this post, I had a severe heart attack. A transradial catheterization disclosed my three main arteries were blocked and could not be stented. I was advised to undergo bypass surgery at my earliest convenience. 

After deciding NOT to have surgery, I began preparing to die. How We Die, along with many other books, were part of my preparations. Microdoses of LSD, so far about every three to four months, have been an ongoing element.

I can't say I'm any more ready to die, but I now see that mountain-climbing is not necessary to a fulfilled life...in case you were wondering.

Should you have questions, my email address is at the bottom of my profile.