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Non-Fiction

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)

11. Okay, so I read it again.

Reply to Hiraeth (Original post)

Fri Apr 29, 2016, 11:17 PM

Apr 2016

Excellent book.

However, two things stand out. First is how incredibly little could be done for Johnny. The second is how the parents fell for someone who is clearly a quack, who claims the brain tumor can be cured by diet. I know that I do not know how it feels to have a child diagnosed with a terminal illness, how desperately the parents would grasp at any possible cure. But in the light of what we know now, I'm so sorry they fell for that.

I am very glad this thread got me to reread this book. And yes, the most heartbreaking part is when Johnny gets to graduate with his class.

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Death Be Not Proud by, John Gunther. Just finished it. [View all] Hiraeth Mar 2016 OP

I read it about 55 years ago in high school. I can only remember it was about the death of his son. sinkingfeeling Mar 2016 #1

Maybe, this feeling will fade but right now, I have to rank this in my Top ten books ever read. Hiraeth Mar 2016 #2

I read it a very, very long time ago, back when I was in high school, SheilaT Mar 2016 #3

If you are a parent now, I think you will read it with a fuller understanding Hiraeth Mar 2016 #4

Yes, I am a parent. SheilaT Mar 2016 #5

Mr. Gunther writes so matter of factly about the events. Daily tidbits. Not an ounce of false Hiraeth Mar 2016 #7

I read it years ago ... I can't bring myself to do it again. But it was very, very good. nt. polly7 Mar 2016 #6

I can't quit crying. Silly me. The unfilfilled potential is one thing but, there is something else Hiraeth Mar 2016 #8

I read it a very long time ago. Neoma Apr 2016 #9

It is written so simply, directly and matter of factly. Subtle. Gut Punch. Hiraeth Apr 2016 #10

Okay, so I read it again. SheilaT Apr 2016 #11

Thank you for re-reading it. Hiraeth Apr 2016 #12

They were already divorced before Johnny got sick. SheilaT Apr 2016 #13

Yes, it reads like a snapshot of a long ago era. Times were so different then. Hiraeth Apr 2016 #14

It's my observation that young people don't relate SheilaT Apr 2016 #15

I can understand why young people of today can not relate to Catcher in the Rye - Hiraeth Apr 2016 #18

And I just got a text from the older son. SheilaT Apr 2016 #16

I thought I was watching a young mans descent into mental illness of some type. Or, at least Hiraeth Apr 2016 #17