Father_Brain

My Father’s Brain The opening essay entitled "My Father's Brain" is an interesting, truthful story about the author’s relationship with his family and Alzheimer’s disease which affected his dad. Instead of writing a self pity sentimental essay, he writes a detailed, step by step report of his family’s experience with this fatal disease that affects so many Americans. He touches on his relationship with his mother and dad, his parent’s marriage, and his provoking thoughts about individual personality and dying. I will do an over view of the author’s approach to Alzheimer, his relationship with his parents and him losing track of each other and themselves. He starts his essay with him opening a valentine box from his mother, which contained a letter, some candy and an autopsy report about his father’s postmortem brain. Early into the essay he tries to inform his audience about Alzheimer, talking about Daniel L Schachter’s theory that the brain is a “temporary constellation”. A description of what memory is and how it works. Throughout the essay he gives us more and more details of the disease explaining about “plaque” and” tangles”; which are proteins that destroys the brain. We see several pages dedicated to explaining the symptoms and stages of the disease with spotted mention of time and places in his reflection. He goes into great depth into what Alzheimer is going into details of the pathology report at times reading directly from it. The author explains his great depth into subject by saying; ‘This was his disease. It was also, you could argue, his story. But you have to let me tell it.” He describes his parents’ marriage as being less than happy. Only reason they stayed married for the sake of the children (him and his brother), by making it work by living autonomous lives, each with separate fiefdoms at home and work. Not so gently he explains some of his mother’s character, her stinginess with postage, her romantic attachment to her children, her lingering anger toward her husband, her weird lack of tact. He describes his father as a person who had no hobbies and few pleasures besides eating meals, who consumed a staggering amount of TV and preferred to be alone. The author clearly opens up that his mother and father had friction throughout his growing up years. Hearing his dad say,” there is no such a thing as love (that sex is a “trap”) and that he was not cut out to be a “happy” person.” Only time he heard his father say he loved his mother was an event in the hospital during his long battle, he screams out he always loved his wife and always have. The author; throughout his essay, drifts from his contempt of his mother and father, to expressing his desire to do whatever he can to help his family. He talks about spending several weeks with his father while his mother was recuperating from her own health issue. He reflects how little he remembers of the stay, only general impressions that his father was somewhat more quiet than usual. At times you can tell his love for his parents and also his contempt for their stubbornness and unfulfilled relationship with each other. He is often defect’s his mother’s criticism of his dad, and tries to stay neutral, which is probably why he seems so distant at times. He was determined that his father was not alone when he died, spending much of his time near his father’s bedside. This story was very different from what I was expecting. I wasn’t expecting such honesty or something so deep, regarding his family life and in-depth mechanical approach to his dad with Alzheimer’s. Story was both sterile and poignant and honest, it had me reflecting on my own personal life. My parents’ marriage, my own marriage and how interesting how it can impact you in ways you never imagined. Also learned about this disease which affect so many senior adults and how terribly painful it is for everyone involved.