Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Canary's Song

I'm finishing up the final details before self publishing my novel, The Canary's Song, on Smashwords.  I never realized how complicated getting a book published can be.  In my case, the writing of the book was easier than getting my book "out there"!

The Canary's Song is a heart-wrenching fictional depiction of Mary Stuart's final day in a Mississippi nursing home.

Mary Stuart has been painfully confined to a wheelchair and living in a nursing home for several years.  With no family to visit her and her funds running out, she faces the difficult decision of choosing between transferring to a poorly run State funded nursing home and electing physician-assisted suicide.  A poorly educated yet compassionate nurse strongly encourages Mary to live out her final days, while Mary makes an unexpected friend whose life direction she alters in her final hours.  Given the developments of the day, will Mary follow through with her plans?

The book entertainingly touches on two themes that I hope inspire readers to chime in on this blog.  The first theme involves the debate of what constitutes living by those kept alive through various levels of artificial means.  What kind of quality of life are we really providing?  The second theme revolves around the issue of life sustainability and its associated personal and financial costs.  As baby boomers reach critical mass in our healthcare system, trade-offs will be necessary to conserve resources.  How far are we as a society willing to go?  

The book will be published soon.  Details to come!!