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Book Review for Meditations from a Movable Chair

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Abstract Meditations from a Movable Chair consists of a series of non-fiction essays by Dubus that are detailed memoirs of his life. Just by reading the title, one can tell how the book describes the way that Dubus continued to write from his wheelchair after being “crippled” by his accident. Readers had the opportunity to experience this honest man’s life through his eyes. Being a handicapped man, everyday tasks became challenges, taking much longer to accomplish. Throughout all the hardships, Dubus had the perseverance to continue living his life and do what he loves; write.

Book Review Andre Dubus' essay collection Meditations from a Movable Chair, is not a book that I would have chosen off of a prodigious bookshelf to read on my own time. Dubus incorporated twenty-five immensely personal short stories into this book to prove how hard life can be. From the very title of the book, most of the essays explain his reflection on how the accident changed him emotionally, fundamentally, and physically.
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Having read Meditations from a Movable Chair, I was very fond of these essays and actually enjoyed the disorganization of the chapters because I have a penchant for putting pieces together. The great thing about short stories is that they are thorough and get right to the point. Dubus writes about themes that are relatable to ordinary people; some of the themes include: family, tolerance/acceptance, religion/faith, perseverance, tragedy, art, literature, commitment, and recovery. In “A Hemingway Story”, Dubus describes how he has and has not gotten over the repercussion of the accident. This story began the healing process and road to recovery for him. Readers can clearly connect to one or multiple themes because Dubus wrote with exceptional compassion, but he did not want to gain pity from his readers.
Evaluation
Americans tend to be biased toward those in wheelchairs and Dubus began to understand the reasoning behind it when a sportswriter came into his class. The newspaperman ended with the statement, “Remember: the last four letters of American spell I can.” (Dubus, 1999) Dubus regularly referred to himself as “crippled” and not disabled. He explained his reasoning by stating,
To view human suffering as an abstraction, as a statement about how plucky we all are, is to blow air through brass while the boys and girls march in parade off to war. Seeing the flesh as only a challenge to the spirit is as false as seeing the spirit as only a challenge to the flesh. (Song of Pity, p155)
Dubus does not want sympathy from his readers or those in his life; he just wants people to understand what he is going through from his perspective. Throughout the short stories, Dubus had perseverance dealing with death, divorce, family struggles, and tragedies. Although he continued to live everyday in pain, Dubus gained the determination to carry on and find the best in every situation. From the very first essay “About Kathryn,” Dubus becomes apart of multiple intimate and hurtful tragedies. Even though he dealt with his sister’s rape, Cag committing suicide, his father’s death, multiple divorces, his accident, and sacrifices he had to make due to being handicapped, Dubus still believed that he “had not lived enough and lost enough” (Dubus, 1999).
Discussion
Selecting a career such as nursing, these professionals are consistently dealing with handicapped individuals everyday. Nurses need to be able to understand the patient’s viewpoint of each individual’s situation. Dubus expressed his perspective by stating,
The memory of having legs that held me upright at this counter and the image of simply turning from the counter and stepping to the drawer are the demons I must keep at bay, or I will rage and grieve because of space, and time, and this wheeled thing that has replaced my legs. So I must try to know the spiritual essence of what I am doing. (Sacraments, p89)
The theme of religion/faith was thoroughly described throughout the book. Being a devout Catholic, Dubus reflects on the everyday tasks he can no longer manage achieve because he is crippled. “A sacrament is physical, and within it is God’s love; as a sandwich is physical, nutritious and pleasurable, and within it is love.”(Dubus, 1999) As Dubus made sandwiches for his daughters, he focused on the sandwiches being sacraments. He believed that by doing tasks out of love, every action made throughout the day was considered a sacrament. His spirituality is undeniably dedicated to his God. Dubus stated in “Sacraments”, “I need sacraments I can receive through my senses. I need God manifested as Christ, who ate and drank and shat and suffered, and laughed.” Dubus felt the need to surrender himself to a higher being throughout his lifetime, especially after his accident. I would unquestionably recommend Meditations from a Movable Chair to fellow nursing students, especially because nurses deal with patients everyday that have their own issues. Professionals could have a better knowledge on how to help if they could relate better to their patients. References
Dubus, A. (1999). Meditations from a movable chair; essays. Vintage.

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