Barbara’s Book Pick
February 2015
New Life, No Instructions: A Memoir
Gail Caldwell, Random House
As a complete “dog person” I was immediately grabbed when the description of this memoir mentioned a Samoyed puppy, but it is so much more. The author, former Boston Globe book critic Gail Caldwell, found her worldview changed as she approached 60 when after getting a new puppy she realized she needed a hip replacement. Not only was her hip repaired, but her polio-damaged right leg gained five-eighths of an inch—so the limp she had had for her entire life was now nearly invisible.
Caldwell writes beautifully about her childhood in Texas and her relationships with her parents, as well as navigating the world of middle age alone and losing loved ones (human and canine). She also explores how her life changed after losing the limp that had tried to define her since childhood and offers a cautionary tale about ignoring joint pain for years on end.
As a middle-aged woman myself, it was fascinating to observe a peer go through what has now become a fairly routine medical procedure and emerge relatively unscathed on the other side. She doesn’t sugar coat rehab, but she does show how to elegantly endure it.
I highly recommend this book, a quick read, and look forward myself to reading more from this author.