The October meeting of Wine and Words Book Club was held at Cindy’s home. Ann, Jan, Karen, Cindy, Linda and Sandie attended the meeting. Cindy served lentil soup (made by Lou) and Greek Salad. Sandie made Ooey, Goey, Pumpkin Bars for dessert. Everyone enjoyed seeing Cindy and Lou’s new home.

The book for October was The Invisible Thread, by Laura Schroff. Everyone enjoyed reading about the true story of a professional woman in New York City who befriends a young boy,begging on a street corner in the 1970’s, and their friendship over the years.

Jan read and enjoyed Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande. Publisher’s description: Doctors are trained to keep their patients alive as long as possible but they are never taught how to prepare people to die. And yet for many patients, particularly the old and terminally ill, death is a question of when, not if. Should the medical profession rethink its approach to them? And in what way? With aging populations and hospital costs rising globally, these questions have become increasingly relevant in his new book. Atul Gawande argues that an acceptance of mortality must lie at the center of the way we treat the dying. Using his experiences (and missteps) as a surgeon, comparing attitudes towards aging and death in the west and in India and drawing a powerful portrait of his fathers final years-a doctor who chose how he should go, Gawande has produced a work that is not only an extraordinary account of loss, but one whose ideas are truly important. Questioning, profound and deeply moving; being mortal is a masterpiece.

Cindy read Furthest Field, by Raghu Karnad. “[Karnad’s] fascinating [book] is both a poignant memorial to his lost family and a gripping account of how India contributed to the allied victory and sowed the seeds of its independence.” (Ian Critchley – Sunday Times) “This book tells us that we all have two deaths: when we die and when we are forgotten. But there is a possibility of two births, the second being re-created in an extraordinary book. This is one of those rare books that bring people alive again. It has been written with imagination and is engrossing to read.” (Michael Holroyd)

The next meeting will be held on Dec. 2nd at 5 PM, at the Four Point Sheridan (used to be the Lakeway Inn). The book for November is 11/22/63, by Stephen King.