Blue. River. Apple. An exploration of Alzheimer’s through poetry, by Nancy Nelson -- Book review

Blue. River. Apple. An exploration of Alzheimer’s through poetry, by Nancy Nelson, was published in 2014. These poems allowed Nancy Nelson to face the diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in a unique way : through art and sharing. The form of the poems often mimic how the writer is feeling, her frustration, her love, her humor, even her joy!

Blue. River. Apple. is much more than a collection of poems. It may be said to represent Nancy’s internal life, the questions she ponders, the way she tries to cope with learning that she sis suffering from this terrible disease which is like no other illness as it directly changes your inner self, it touches something that makes you whole, that makes you a special and unique human being. The poems are of a rarely seen density as the author shares her difficulties with us: as simple a task as writing an email becomes

“Mind-Boggling Networking” as the author
“missed step 3” and
“A single ten-minute mission
Takes [her] an hour… or more.”

Even if this disease makes her life extremely difficult, this beautiful collection shows that she does not despair and tries and enjoy everything she can:

“Dancing through the daffodils”
“It makes me glad to be alive
Even with life’s ups and downs,
I’m happy to survive!
This is my life!
I create from it what I will.
It is up to me to find the good.
And… expand on that.”

What a lesson for us all! I highly recommend these truly inspirational poems!

Reviewed for Readers' Favorite.