Joseph Monninger

This is a beautifully and fluently written account of writer and educator Joseph Monninger’s first seven months as a Stage IV lung cancer patient. He’d only just ended his teaching career at a college in New Hampshire and was away at his cabin in Maine, a spectacular setting in which he’d hoped to enjoy his retirement with his partner, when the phone call came about a very large tumour in his left lung. (He’d been experiencing considerable breathlessness and a CT scan had recently been performed.) Immediate action was necessary, and he was quickly linked up with a pulmonologist and an oncologist. His was a dire diagnosis, but a blood test revealed that Monninger had a rare mutation, usually found in Asian men (not those of Irish-American ancestry). Patients with this mutation often responded to a drug that offered the promise of extended life. The medication had a list of side effects a yard long, but Monninger was spared the worst of these and afforded extra time.

In the first part of the memoir, the author focuses on his shock, as well as on his meetings with medical specialists. Early on he underwent a procedure to drain his pleural effusion, a buildup of fluid between the layers of tissue that line the lungs and chest cavity. The pulmonologist initially drew two litres of fluid from the chest. After a catheter was surgically placed, Monninger, his partner, Susan, and his son would subsequently be responsible for draining the fluid at home. This was done on alternate days.

Monninger had been a fit, outdoorsy guy. Now, sweeping the porch or walking a short distance winded him. He was also susceptible to infection. All of this in the time of Covid. Adjustments had to be made, but as he continued to live, exceeding his own expectations, Monninger recognized that he had perhaps resigned himself too readily to his condition; he began to make plans for small projects and a trip to Nebraska to watch the magnificent spring migration of the sandhill cranes along the Platte River—a transcendent experience for him and Susan that confirmed the wonder and beauty of life that humans are but a small part of.

While Monninger’s memoir touches on some practicalities a person with a terminal illness must deal with—health insurance and the settling of one’s will, for example—it mostly concerns matters of meaning. The author’s love of the natural world, literature, and fly fishing figure prominently.

The book’s apt title comes from a line in Thornton Wilder’s Play, Our Town, a play famous for its consideration of what makes life valuable.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.… (more)

A variant on a common tale: two not-so-young people—Cobb, the narrator, and Mary—meet and immediately fall in love. Each recognizes in the other the soulmate neither expected to meet any more. Sound like a fairy tale? In a way, it is. But the shadow of illness hangs over their happiness; their idyll is doomed to last but a short while. The book put a human face on the topical issue of assisted suicide.
The story is well-told. I especially enjoyed the skilfully-evoked settings: the Allagash River, Bali, and Yellowstone (yes, these two get around in their brief time together). The writing is simple and straightforward, yet uneven, at times sloppy. One character “made Mary and I stand side by side.” The two lovers go for a swim in the ocean, leaving their clothes in their hut; then they come out of the water and sit down to a meal with her (dressed) brother and some others at beachfront. And just how does one dial a number on a cell phone?
I found it odd, too, that the author describes characters such as Mary’s brother Freddy in a detailed way, yet contents himself with repeatedly writing that Mary is beautiful. I only learned the color of her eyes when he described Freddy’s, “blue like Mary’s”. The only other physical detail I recall is that her long hair was the color of cord wood. Nevertheless, Mary’s dialogue and personality make her a memorable character. It was worth reading the book to become acquainted with her.… (more)

This is a gorgeous story! It includes a loyal brotherly bond, true love worthy of a fairy-tale, an idyllic childhood lived out in nature and self-discovery, and a path through young adulthood that confronts tragedy, but triumphs in spirit. Ed and Allard Keer are in their early teens, home-schooled in New Hampshire and great comrades ready to take on the world. They have a map hanging on their bedroom ceiling and spend their sleepy bedtimes talking about where to explore. The story, told in retrospect begins: "Years ago, on a cold New Hampshire day, my brother and I tried to skate to Canada." In their journey up the Baker River, they encounter Sarah Patrick with her dog fallen through the ice. Ed and Allard are good outdoorsmen and manage to rescue her -- Allard the younger, lighter one shimmies out on the ice with a rope and backpack and though he falls through too, there is a kiss and all are rescued and pulled back to safety by Ed as anchor. That's also a metaphor for the majority of the story. This is where the love story begins. Sarah, new to town, since her family won a major lottery is forever attached to Allard and he to her. "It was our first great love and it was tender and eager and everywhere. In giving, we received more. In taking, we wanted to give. Our parents were patient though they could not have kept us apart even if they had the will to do so." The families become fast friends and the kids finish growing up together, doing wholesome projects like driving oxen, erecting a new barn on the boys' family property, training carrier pigeons, and forming their own film company named after the river where they all met. They are each successful in their own right and go off to college to pursue film (Ed and Allard) and writing (Sarah) remaining true to each other and to their love and respect for nature. But a story that begins with a fall through ice is an ominous omen and I found myself waiting for the other shoe to drop. It does, with devastating results, but there is reconciliation and redemption and it certainly keeps you reading to see how it will resolve. The loveliness here is the pure relationships between Allard and Ed and Allard and Sarah. Though it is set in roughly contemporary times, its wholesomeness feels like it is set in the 1950s. And the relationship of all three to wilderness with respect for its beauty and fierceness inspires awe.… (more)