The bad news is, that the morning after I wrote my last post I awoke with terrible ear pain which became worse and worse and by lunchtime my eardrum burst and my ear began draining.....some stuff. I went to the doctor the next day for confirmation and antibiotics, also to the pediatrician to find out that my daughter would be placed on her fifth course of antibiotics since late December for ear infection, and then we went to see her dentist. What a day that was. Did I mention we also had tickets that night to the Children's Theater to see a well reviewed play? Yup. I don't really know how I sat though that. As a result of the rupture/infection/fluid, I had no hearing in my right ear at all. I was scheduled to work the following weekend and then fly to see my sister and her family on Tuesday. Over the past few days I have regained some hearing in my ear, but not all of it by any means. I am going to wait and see and hope that it continues to improve. The trip to Ohio went well and I got lots of baby holding in as she has a five month old baby boy who is just sweet and adorable. We did some napping together.
I've gotten a fair amount of reading done, but today I'll start small - a small book that is, but not a small story. I read about Address Unknown over at Nan's and was just fascinated by what she wrote about it. I requested the book from the library and when it arrived, I had forgotten the premise as I am wont to do.
Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor was first published as a short story in 1938 and was so popular that the magazine that published it sold out. Reader's Digest then reprinted it and in 1939 it was released in book form. The story is a series of letters between two men - business partners in California, both from Germany, one Jewish and one not. The Jewish man remains in the US while the other man has emigrated back to Germany with his family in 1932 and subsequently falls under the spell of the Nazi party. His attitudes toward his friend change and after tragedy strikes, there is a twist in the story that left me speechless. I was confused for a moment but then experienced that 'aha!' moment that a brilliantly told tale can bring. I read this book in less than 30 minutes, and I highly recommend it. I don't think I will ever forget it.
I am still trying to catch up on my emails and get my bloglines posts to read under - gulp- 200. So I'll be around soon to visit!
13 comments:
Tara, so sorry to read that you've been feeling awful - it sounds very unpleasant. Best wishes for a full recovery soon.
Tara that sounds like it was very painful too! Ugh. I do hope your hearing gets better and good health vibes for you and your daughter. Being on antibiotics is no fun but hopefully they will do the trick and you'll be fully recovered soon.
It sounds like you've had a horrible time, Tara! Really sorry to hear it, but glad to see you back again.
Address Unknown is a brilliant little read. I read it last year and like you had a moment of 'What?' and then it dawned on me what had happened so I went back to the beginning and read it again. Some of it is quite chilling. To fit everything the author did into that short little book and pack that punch is nothing short of amazing.
I hope your ear starts feeling better soon, and it's so good to see you back!!
Oh, Tara, I'm so sorry about your eardrum. That is so painful. My daughter had hers burst one time when she was little. she and I both have had ear infection issues all our lives. It's hard to explain how painful they can be. My thoughts and prayers are with you and I hope that your poor ear can recover from the trauma. The body has amazing recovery powers though. Glad to see a post from you!!
Karen, thanks so much.
Iliana, thank you and I hope that with warmer weather - hopefully - coming soon that it will bring all this illness to an end.
Cath, I couldn't agree more with what you've said about Address Unknown. I think it would be a teriffic book for high school students to read. Short but packs a punch.
Eva, thank you!
Kay, I see you know what we are going through. Unforunately, my daughers ear history is remarkably similar to my own which I have just reviewed thanks to my mom's great notes. This same eardrum ruptured when I was 3 which is not good in terms of re-rupture. You are right about the pain - I was shaking it hurt so badly.
I hope you're feeling better. Thanks for entering my giveaway.
I'm sorry to hear you've been feeling so ill lately. I hope you and your daughter feel better soon.
And thank you for posting about this book. I've never heard of it but it sounds like one I should read.
I'm sorry about your poor eardrum...you write so well, I could almost feel it myself.
Never heard of Address Unknown...that's interesting!
Kim, Thanks!
Lesley, thank you. The book is very, very good. I couldn't recommend it more.
Bybee, your words are so generous. I'm so glad I heard about this book from Nan. It's wonderful.
Tara, I'm so sorry to hear about your ordeal. I'm glad you're back and hope the hearing continues to improve. That has to be really tough. By the way, I have moved my blog (formerly PfeifferBooknotes) to Booknotes by Lisa at http://booknotesbylisa.blogspot.com if you want to update your blogroll. I just got everything changed over and have been painting all week, so there aren't any new posts as of yet. But, I start on my new job tomorrow, and I'll get back into a routine soon.
Lisa, thank you, and thanks also for the link. Good luck with everything!
I'm so sorry to hear about your ear infection and burst eardrum, and I hope you are continuing to recover. It's nice to have you back to posting!
Best wishes,
Robin
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