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The author was an active member of his community in northern Virginia, writing a blog and volunteering with youth and the homeless. He and his wife Connie married late in life and spent seven happy years together. A fractured vertebra related to a fall changed the course of their lives. X-rays revealed that Mehr had carcinoma in the lobe of his right lung. Yet, he was never a smoker. This book records the author's experiences, observations about God, and the wisdom garnered during months of treatment for Stage 4 lung cancer. That December, the author chose a different path. He opted to discontinue chemo, continue volunteering at the hospital, and lead as active a life as possible. Unfortunately, multiple brain tumors required radiation treatments, and Mehr died the following April.
The author documented the last ten months of his life through journal entries he made within the hospital's CaringBridge site. Mehr began his writing on June 23, 2009. People who knew the author and eagerly read his honest entries later urged his wife to publish this memoir. She agreed because of her loving husband's habit of commenting on the obituaries of other people from their town, providing unique portrayals. Public obituaries only provide short paragraphs of identifying information. They fail to tell the whole tale of a generous life like Mehr's that was lived over decades, or the service he unselfishly rendered to those neighbors and loved ones. His wife entered the announcement of Mehr's death on April 26. Her other comments added for publication were penned after joining a writing group for the bereaved. Sharing her love for such a talented man and how she has dealt with this loss contribute greatly to the book's emotional impact even many years after his death.
Honorable Mention in the 2021 Eric Hoffer Book Award Memoir Category.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review