Last Request

/ roughwighting

CDD20 from PIxabay“In fact, if you could forget mortality, and that is less easy here than in most places . . . you could really believe that stories change you, enliven you, even send you off: off to a different world; off from your troubles and problems; off to a place where you don’t feel your age, or arthritic pain, or the devil chasing you from behind.”

“Okay, Granny, okay!” I interrupt, “I believe you!” My Great Gran, 94 years old, or as she says, 94 and ½ friggin’ years, begins this lecture to me almost every time I visit her.

“Kathleen, that is posh,” Granny says, her faded blue eyes twinkling. “And I know no one says ‘Posh’ anymore.”

“I remember that word,” I reply, smiling, thinking Gran will be proud of me. “The cranky old neighbor in the book Pollyanna used to say ‘Posh’ all the time.”

Gran does not smile when she speaks in her gravelly voice that cracks more with each passing month. “I’m afraid that may be the last book you read. And at 23 years of age, that’s a disgrace.”

Gran’s cheeks turn deep pink. A nurse peeks in. At this assisted living facility Gran is a favorite. Nurses frown at visitors upsetting my great grandmother.

Now my face reddens. “I’m a Ph.D. graduate fellow for heaven’s sake,” I retort. “I don’t have time to read.” sun, reading, children's book, baby reading books

Gran deflates like a week-old balloon. “No Ph.D. can take the place of reading, of learning through books,” she begins, so softly I can barely hear her. “Stories free me from this place. They free most of us from a staid reality that, like a veil, hides us from the beauty that surrounds us.”    

Gran sighs as deep as an old well. She sits up straighter in her bed, pleading, “Perhaps you don’t need to escape your mortality yet, your humanness, my dear Kathleen. But that time will come. Please, please find time now to read. The discovery of the places and spaces books take you – well, that will amaze you.” Pexels on PIxabay

At that last sentence, Gran falls back on her pillow, whispering, “that is my last request.” 

Slowly, her eyes close.

131 thoughts on “Last Request”

  2. Awww … Pam, this is a wonderful story reinforcing the power and liberty of books, their wonder in our lives. I hope Kathleen will heed her Great-Gran’s advice and take the time for the all-important books, experience their freedoms! I love feisty Ninety-three and half year old Great-Gran (what a character detail which shows she’s never lost that sense of inner child!) As she closes her eyes may her mind drift away on the gentle tales of books to countries far away!

    It does sadden me how many homes are bereft of books, not only is there a lonely feeling in the blank minimalist rooms there is also a lack of soul, I feel!

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    • “. . . the power and liberty of books.” YES, books can set a reader free in hundreds of ways. I know of intelligent people who are lawyers, Ph.D.s, M.D.s, who don’t read fiction. They think it’s a waste of their time, but in fact, it’s the opposite. Without books, empathy for others is lacking.

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  3. Beautiful and full of wisdom, Pam. 💙

    I have always read novels, even when working on my grad studies and Ph.D., and when I was nursing a baby and had to be up in two hours, and now–even if it’s only a few pages before I go to sleep.

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  8. Oh my gosh, such a powerful piece. It resonates so much with me because I’m watching my 98-year-old mother decline in mobility yet she gets such pleasure from her reading (on Kindle so she can crank up the font size) — I hadn’t thought about what a beautiful escape her reading must be.

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    • Reading and enjoying the escape at my age is paramount; I can’t imagine how much I’ll need books when I’m 98! (and already I use the Kindle for the ability to increase the font ).Your mom is a wizard to be able to continue to escape into bookland like she does. I send her a huge virtual hug. 🤓

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  9. This is such a wonderful piece. Thanks. I remember reading to Mom in her final years and how happy it made her. There should always be time for reading, always. I’m happy to report that all the young folks I encounter in my travels and school visits etc., love to read!

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  11. I can’t imagine a life without books, especially the books with pages I can physically turn. Books are stashed everywhere around the house: beside my meditation table, on a shelf of the sofa table, behind the window seat, piles beside my bed. I could go on. William Dean Howells said “Nothing furnishes a house like books,” and I agree.

    “Stories free me from this place. They free most of us from a staid reality that, like a veil, hides us from the beauty that surrounds us.” Thank for adding this gem to my store of quotes, Pam–love this!

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  12. I love this story. It resonates so much where I’m at today. 46 apartments full of seniors and I’d bet only 3 others take advantage of the wealth of books in the common library or the library in the senior center. I’m about 6 blocks away from the public library and the little city bus can pick us up at the end of the road and drop us off right in front of the library. I’m loaded with books on Kindle, audible and my own shelves. I read everyday. It saved me in adolescence, through my adult years and now in my late years. Gran was right, keep reading. For me, I’d say keep writing. Wish I was close enough to come to your classes. You are most likely a fantastic teacher as well.

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    • I wish you were close enough to come to my classes also, Marlene! We would have a blast. But in the meantime, I can see you taking that shuttle to the library and gracing it with your wisdom. That’s what books do for us. Give us wisdom and a fantasy life that keeps us going. 💗 Keep reading and writing!

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  13. This is a poignant post Pam, filled with wisdom, humor, and a touch of sadness, much like life! Reading has taken me on many wonderful journeys, especially when my life is hard. I hope Kathleen and today’s youth rekindle a passion for reading and books, and hugs! 😍

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  19. That is so true what you said about the value of fiction. We don’t have to just read non-fiction to feel that we’ve improved ourselves. Fiction provides a huge array of experiences and outlooks on life and it provides little tidbits of info along the way.

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  22. Just beautiful, Pamela. Your stories are always so clear I almost believe I’m in the room as an observer.

    It’s funny what pops into our heads when reading a story. My wife and I laugh at an old story from her childhood. Her grandfather, a cantankerous man, used to have his grandchildren gather around him each Christmas morning. This apparently happened about five years in a row. His grandchildren would think he was about to pass on some wisdom. Instead, he’d say, “Take a long hard look, kids. This might be the last time you see me.”🤣

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    • Pete – I laughed OUT LOUD when I read the end of your wife’s childhood story. Dear me, Great Gran here is much more articulate about what’s important to her, I think. And thanks for the sweet compliment that my stories bring you right in there with the characters. 🙂

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  25. A beautiful piece of writing about the power and importance of books and reading. I hope Kathleen takes her Gran’s advice. As a person surrounded by books and one who’s always reading two or three books simultaneously, I completely concur about the places we can go to (and escape from) through the power of books.

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  28. Granny is a great character. I like that she’s a favorite at her assisted living place.

    Most of the people I know read a lot. My three grandchildren (ages 15-29) are all big readers. And my 3 daughters have always been big readers. Daughter #2 doesn’t read very much any more, though. She’s a prosecutor who spends so many hours reading about her cases and writing briefs that I think she needs a break. She’s still a great storyteller, though.

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    • Congrats on spreading the love of reading to your children AND grandchildren. My granddaughter (15) says she doesn’t like to read, but she reads a book a month. I sent her one (historical fiction) at her overnight camp and she read it in 3 days and then gave it to me to read. I love sharing books with grands! My youngest grandson loves to read and loves writing even more. At 10. He may be the novelist of the family. 🙂 So, we can pat each other’s backs, Nicki. 🙂

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  29. I hope Kathleen follows her great gran’s request. It’s a good. one.
    The Ph.D comment made me smile because of a comment my son made when we were texting comments about the new Connections game. I don’t know if you know it so it may not make sense. However, he commented that some of the clues were syntax clues. I queried him on syntax, and he replied ‘letters and whatnot’. I replied ‘spelling’, to which he responded, ‘Please, I have a Ph.D’. So I said, ‘Then you should know the difference between syntax and spelling’. No response. 😅

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  30. Thank you, Pam, for sharing this wonderful personal story about your Grandmother. She was absolutely right. Reading does remove you from the “slings and arrows” of everyday life and transports you to new places to meet interesting people.

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  31. Keep your campaign simple, you do it well: READ! My grandchildren call me Gran as I requested 28 years ago after a summer of reading Rosamunde Pilcher’s The Shell Seekers and her other charming novels. Books influence us in so many ways.
    Keep up your message.

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    • I love escaping into books, even if the story is sad or scary or challenging. I must add that I also escape when I write my own stories. I dive deep into the worlds of my characters (like Great Gran and Kathleen) and it’s so much fun. Many thanks for your comment, Ann.

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  33. Gran knows of what she speaks and hopefully her last request does not fall on deaf ears. I’ve been reading books since, well, since I can! I was lamenting the fact that I wasn’t taking more time to dive into a good book… so I changed that!
    Beautiful story, Pam.

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  36. Granny is wise and very observant. Stories do change us and take us away from our immediate concerns. They can make us grateful for the blessings we do enjoy. Beautifully written, Pam. I’d love to meet the Granny in your story about stories!

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  37. I agree with Great Granny. My mom gifted me with a love of reading; books have always been a part of my life. I often spent Wednesday mornings in the library while she shopped at the Krogers above us. She got me a book club membership that sent me a book every month and grew with my age. She encouraged me to grow and to learn about new things and people and I’ve never stopped reading.

    I wonder, as I have stayed away from most sad or violent books the last decade or so, if I am escaping my own mortality. For a while, it was escaping depression and not adding to sadness by reading sad things. These days I am getting old. I could be a grandmother, in fact I think by the numbers I could be a great grandmother. Stories still take me different places. They entertain me, introduce me to new people and ideas.

    Lovely story.

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    • Your mom is/was fabulous! My mom also introduced me to the library and signed me up for a book-a-month club. I forgot about those. Loved that club.
      I think we choose the type of book to read that is what we need. I never choose horror or psychological thrillers because believe me, I don’t need either of those things in my life. And I only read a sad book if I know there is some redeeming quality for the character at the end. That’s why I like book reviews. “Happy” reading to you, literally and figuratively. 🙂

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  38. Books are a door that opens up to new ideas, new cultures and a way to meet incredible people. I have met the most interesting people in books. Granny’s request was a very wise one and hopefully will be followed. Although it is sad to witness the burning of books just because they present ideologies one doesn’t believe in. Interesting post, Pam. ❤

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    • Oh yes, yes, you introduced another great thing about reading. I’m almost finished reading The Covenant of Water, most of it set in India over several decades and am learning so much about a country I’ve never visited. And oh how I’ve fallen in love with book characters! The banning of books makes my heart turn cold. So wrong on so many levels.

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    • Figured you’d love Great Gran and her message here, Barbara. I’m with you – I already started listening to Audible books from time to time so if my sight ever worsens, I still can read, even if auditorily. Reading is LIFE.

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    • Reading definitely is a form of escapism, Gerlinde. Sometimes, the world in a book seems more real than the one out my door. I suppose that’s weird, but we readers can live in two places at once. ❤

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  46. A wonderful story about the magic of books, Pam, and our reading superpower. It reminds me of the quote by George RR Martin: “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” I hope Kathleen listens to her Gran. 🙂 ❤

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  48. This really resonates with me. I was fortunate to grow up in a family that really promoted reading. My mother used to take us to the library weekly. My parents still regularly read. My grandparents on both sides also regularly read. I have a fond memory of my grandmother keeping a little notebook while she read because she sometimes took notes because she said her memory wasn’t like it used to be. But when I went to grad school for my PhD, finding the time and energy to read was difficult and I really struggled to keep my identity as a reader. But then I found a love for audiobooks which allowed me to read while commuting, doing chores and experiments. And now that I have survived grad school, I’ve been learning the pleasure to settle back into reading a book while doing nothing else.

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    • Thank you for sharing ALL of this! My mom took me to my first library outing when I was 7, and I fell in love. When she was in her 60s, 70s, and 80s we used to mail books back and forth to each other (we lived in different states). Sometimes I finish a book and immediately think “mom will love this.” ❤ I'm with you, I use Audible books now to and from my work, thus I read a book at home and one in the car. Salute to readers! 🙂

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