Wife, Just Let Go: Zen, Alzheimer's, and Love Kindle Edition
by Robert Briggs (Author), Diana Saltoon (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
5.0 out of 5 stars 4 ratings
See all formats and editions
Kindle
$19.69Read with Our Free App
An extraordinary love story, Wife Just Let Go are the last words Robert Briggs wrote to his wife before he passed away from Alzheimer’s disease. A publisher, literary agent, and author who deeply felt the influence of the Beat era, Robert never stopped writing. Even in his later stages of Alzheimer’s, Robert was able to share insights into what he called “the power of aging,” and his love of poetry, jazz, and Zen. He continued to write, valiantly, of his younger days and of his stint in the army when he and his platoon witnessed an atomic bomb explosion at Frenchman Flat, Nevada, an experience that forever haunted his imagination. What began as a promise to publish his last works evolved into this duo-memoir. His wife Diana, as his long-time partner and primary caregiver, joined him in this telling, as a way to restore for the reader, and for Robert, the parts of the story he was losing. Her meditative commentary became her solace through her own path of pain and grief as she witnessed the daily, wrenching loss of her husband’s memory, and ultimately his death. Poignantly written yet unflinchingly honest, the book navigates not only the waters of grief and loss, but also the other side of Alzheimer’s: gifts that sustain and inspire loved ones left behind.
Read less
Print length
142 pages
Language
English
Publisher
Robert Briggs Associates
Publication date
11 August 2017
File size
2953 KB
Next page
Kindle PaperwhiteThe best device for reading, full stop. Learn more
Product description
Review
"An intimate portrayal of love and loss. Discovering the core of our existence where we find healing, peace, and compassion. For caregivers everywhere, whether dealing with the disease of Alzheimer's, cancer, or any other terminal illness, this book shares deep insight and ways to help with the care of a loved one, family, or friend. Even in the last stages of an illness, there are gifts a patient imparts that continually sustain and inspire loved ones left behind." Kenneth R Pelletier, PhD, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California School of Medicine (UCSF), San Francisco, author of Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayer.
"The words 'Zen' and 'Alzheimer's' are seldom paired. Zen, representing supreme awareness, and Alzheimer's, associated with loss of awareness, would seem to have little to do with each other, but just as all opposites dissolve in the truth of non-duality, this volume bears touching testimony to how presence in the now is available at any moment in any state. Part autobiography, part biography of a remarkable man, Robert Briggs, this book is also a dialogue in poetry and an extraordinary love story. It affirms love and life while remaining clear-eyed and honest about the suffering entailed in love and life. Diana Saltoon toward the end of the work states that she found her husband's acceptance and curiosity in the face of his deteriorating condition, "humanly noble and inspiring." This reader found those words a fitting summation of the entire book. Reading this book expands one's experience of what it is to be human in the best sense of the word. " Sonja Arntzen, Professor Emerita, University of Toronto, author of Ikkyū and the Crazy Cloud Anthology and Kagerō Diary.
"This lovely book is, in its entirety, a poem about love. It is about young love, middle-aged love, and love that endures through the profound changes of Alzheimer's and on into the loneliness and mystery of death. It has two authors, two poets, Diana Saltoon, and her "late" husband Robert Briggs. In these pages Robert is quite alive, even as his own memory - but not his sense of humor - fades. Although it is quite interesting to read this touching memoir and to learn about the Beat generation from one who lived it, it is their Zen practice that shines through, and the book's unexpected effect is a warming, spreading radiance in the reader's heart. " Jan Chozen Bays, MD, and co-abbot of Great Vow Zen Monastery in Clakskanie, Oregon, and author of How to Train a Wild Elephant: And Other Adventures in Mindfulness.
"From the overlapping poetry and prose of Robert and Diana, we gain insight into how the interests they shared throughout their long marriage--prose, poetry, jazz, politics, Japanese tea ceremony, existentialism, and Zen--sustain them. They reach a place where fragments of language and the gestures of everyday life bring them to an understanding of each other that transcends words." Clayton Morgareidge, Professor Emeritus, Lewis and Clark College, author of Demystifying Demons: Rethinking Who and What We Are.
"The authors Diana Saltoon and the late Robert Briggs write a love story through the eyes of poetry, Zen, and the relief from suffering, which is love. Deep bows to this blessed wisdom and compassion and to the authors."Larry Christensen, Ph.D. is the Head Teacher at The Zen Center of Portland and a clinical psychologist in Portland, OR.--This text refers to the paperback edition.
About the Author
Robert Briggs attended Auburn and Columbia Universities and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He became a partner in The San Francisco Book Company in 1972 and in 1973 founded Robert Briggs Associates, a group of West Coast consultants to writers and small publishers. Author and publisher, he created multimedia projects including Jazz and Poetry & Other Reasons, reads accompanied by jazz musicians in performances in Portland, OR He was involved in early West Coast jazz and poetry scenes where he performed in San Francisco's Jazz Cellar. To Briggs, "Jazz is to music, what poetry is to knowing." See www.ruinedtime.com.
Diana Saltoon has traveled extensively, studied yoga, and in the 1970s developed a program that dealt with modern stress. Her interest in Zen led to a study of Chado, The Way of Tea, as a Zen art and received a certificate of Chamei from the Urasenke School in Kyoto, Japan. Diana became a teacher at the Portland Wakai Tea Association in Oregon before moving to New York in 2011. She returned to Portland, Oregon, in 2014. A member of Zen communities in Oregon and New York, Diana continues to give presentations, classes and workshops on the Zen Art of Tea and continues to write. She is affiliated with the Oregon Haiku Society of America as well as the Haiku In English Maui. --This text refers to the paperback edition.
Product details
ASIN : B07GFQ7WM9
Publisher : Robert Briggs Associates (11 August 2017)
Language : English
File size : 2953 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 142 pagesCustomer Reviews:
5.0 out of 5 stars 4 ratings
How would you rate your experience shopping for books on Amazon today?
Very poor
Neutral
Great
Customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
4 global ratings
5 star 100%
4 star 0% (0%)
0%
3 star 0% (0%)
0%
2 star 0% (0%)
0%
1 star 0% (0%)
0%
How are ratings calculated?
Review this product
Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review
Sponsored
Top reviews
Top reviews from Australia
There are 0 reviews and 0 ratings from Australia
Top reviews from other countries
Mali Gesmundo
5.0 out of 5 stars - I've not completed reading this wonderful book, its so deeply moving and touching to ...Reviewed in the United States on 27 December 2017
Verified Purchase
- I've not completed reading this wonderful book, easy to read, yet so deeply moving and touching, had to stop and think about the many messages, and to realize the creative power and love between the two primary occupants of the story. Reading it, very present time, yet how often do we hear the way certain times in life are to be disguised? Although I have known directly and indirectly about the persons in the book, it reads like poetry, a collage, or a black and white, or sepia film.
- Let us hope the author, Diana Saltoon will continue to produce books as unexpectedly lively, and full of surprises of the human spirit and the colorful life of choice of artistic endeavor.
- Heroic candor with which these two lovers face an unknown chapter of their love story. Rich, perhaps odd to say, it is an adventure story, drama in classic Briggs fashion but really not so if you ever met or knew Briggs. I was left with a thought, could I be present enough to care for another this way and maybe there is such a thing as eternal love...
2 people found this helpfulReport abuse
willm
5.0 out of 5 stars Wife, Just Let Go - a very good but sad read on a topic that has and will touched manyReviewed in the United States on 28 September 2017
Verified Purchase
Has anybody not been affected in some way by Alzheimer's Disease in their family? The cause for most Alzheimer's cases is still mostly unknown. How can that be in this day and age of technology and science?
This is a story of a man and a woman I was lucky to know for a short time. He was larger than life and she was sweeter and more supportive than was possible. I remember Robert many times sitting on the edge of a chair fully engaged in a lively discussion sharing his literary expertise with another friend. Always animated, then Alzheimer's . . . and the flame slowly extinguished.
Reading between the lines - Diana wonders - how can this happen to my soulmate of 38 years? We exercised, ate sensible, meditated, lived and loved - why Robert? What do I do now? Fear, emotion, loss are all chronicled here.
Scattered throughout the book are beautiful and poignant poems one can connect with.
Read this book - it is a short insightful journey of remembrances and highlights of Briggs's life before the all consuming disease took him from us.
4 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Janet J Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars As a friend of both of these wonderful people I was so very touched by this collaborationReviewed in the United States on 19 November 2017
Verified Purchase
As a friend of both of these wonderful people I was so very touched by this collaboration. It is Diana who makes this collaboration come to life as her husband is slowly sinking into Alzheimer’s. The book is so touching as we see Diana trying to come to terms with this disease in a man she profoundly loves. The writing by both of them is wondrous to read. Only Robert is listed by Amazon as the author when this book is clearly a collaboration.
2 people found this helpfulReport abuse
See all reviews
Wife, Just Let Go: Zen, Alzheimer's, and Love
by Robert Briggs, Diana Saltoon (Goodreads Author)
4.11 · Rating details · 9 ratings · 5 reviews
An extraordinary love story, Wife Just Let Go are the last words Robert Briggs wrote to his wife before he passed away from Alzheimer's disease. A publisher, literary agent, and author who deeply felt the influence of the Beat era, Robert never stopped writing. Even in his later stages of Alzheimer's, Robert was able to share insights into what he called "the power of aging," and his love of poetry, jazz, and Zen. He continued to write, valiantly, of his younger days and of his stint in the army when he and his platoon witnessed an atomic bomb explosion at Frenchman Flat, Nevada, an experience that forever haunted his imagination. What began as a promise to publish his last works evolved into this duo-memoir. His wife Diana, as his long-time partner and primary caregiver, joined him in this telling, as a way to restore for the reader, and for Robert, the parts of the story he was losing. Her meditative commentary became her solace through her own path of pain and grief as she witnessed the daily, wrenching loss of her husband's memory, and ultimately his death. Poignantly written yet unflinchingly honest, the book navigates not only the waters of grief and loss, but also the other side of Alzheimer's: gifts that sustain and inspire loved ones left behind. (less)
GET A COPY
KoboOnline Stores ▾Book Links ▾
Paperback, 162 pages
Published August 11th 2017 by Robert Briggs Associates
ISBN0931191203 (ISBN13: 9780931191206)
Other Editions (3)
Wife, Just Let Go: Zen, Alzheimer's, and Love
111x148
Wife, Just Let Go: Zen, Alzheimer's, and Love
All Editions | Add a New Edition
...Less DetailEdit Details
FRIEND REVIEWS
Recommend This Book None of your friends have reviewed this book yet.
READER Q&A
Ask the Goodreads community a question about Wife, Just Let Go
54355902. uy100 cr1,0,100,100
Ask anything about the book
Be the first to ask a question about Wife, Just Let Go
LISTS WITH THIS BOOK
This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »
COMMUNITY REVIEWS
Showing 1-30
Average rating4.11 · Rating details · 9 ratings · 5 reviews
Search review text
All Languages
More filters | Sort order
Sejin,
Sejin, start your review of Wife, Just Let Go: Zen, Alzheimer's, and Love
Write a review
Rene Denfeld
Sep 15, 2018Rene Denfeld rated it it was amazing
This is one of those little gems of a book, published by a small press. The authors weave a story of poetry, love, aging and loss. It's real and honest, but also gentle and kind. I loved it. (less)
flag12 likes · Like · comment · see review
Lauren Sapala
Dec 10, 2017Lauren Sapala rated it it was amazing
For quite a while now, I’ve been interested in death and dying. Specifically, why our society doesn’t talk about it and why so many people are so afraid of it. Of course, I have my moments of fear too—but what I’ve noticed in society at large is that people pretend that death is something that will really never happen to them, and if you experience the death of a loved one, not that many people feel comfortable talking with you about that experience.
Diana Saltoon’s book, Wife, Just Let Go: Zen, Alzheimer’s, and Love, is a rare breath of fresh air in this realm. She not only talks about death and dying, she dives deep into the ocean of fear, unknowing, resistance, and pain to show the reader her journey to acceptance, and ultimately peace, when faced with the terminal illness and decline of her beloved partner, Robert Briggs. But this isn’t just a story about the process of dying and letting go of a loved one, it’s also the story of a life. In this slim but powerful volume, we find memories of Robert’s experiences with the Beat poets in the San Francisco scene in the 1950's, a meeting he had with Eleanor Roosevelt that left an indelible, lifelong impression on him, and his chilling story of witnessing an atomic explosion as part of a US Army experiment.
We also see how Robert and Diana met, fell in love, and accompanied each other on life’s tumultuous path for over three decades.
Wife, Just Let Go took me only a couple of days to read, but it will stay with me for years, I already know that. It’s one of the most beautiful books I’ve read in a long time.
(less)
flag1 like · Like · 1 comment · see review
Michael Roth
May 14, 2018Michael Roth rated it really liked it
"Diana Saltoon weaves her own poetry with that of her beloved husband Robert Briggs into a chronicle of his and their last years and days of learning about and combatting Alzheimer’s. It was a journey they traveled together without knowing the next steps. The book is masterfully woven with their poetry, notes, thoughts, tenderness and days together into a beautiful mosaic while facing a terrible disease, one that few of us have not been affected by in some way. The author’s use of contrasting images is also engaging; Zen & humanism, male & female, poetry & prose, white space & mindful words are carefully dove-tailed into an exquisite portrait of aging and being present. It’s “Be Here Now” at the juncture of spirit and matter when we know that the now we are familiar with is disappearing.
This is a companion guide to the “36-Hour Day” for people and families dealing with Alzheimer’s. Definitely a worthwhile read." (less)
flagLike · comment · see review
Doug Wells
Oct 04, 2018Doug Wells rated it liked it
I picked up this book as I thought it might speak directly to me and my own experiences. While I didn't find that, I did find a lovely tribute and a powerful telling of life with and around Alzheimer's. (less)
flagLike · comment · see review
Margaret
Nov 12, 2017Margaret rated it it was amazing
A couples love shines through even Alzheimer's disease. This is a moving and intimate love story that brings dignity to the Alzheimer's disease process and to death. I enjoyed the writing as much as the stories. Highly recommended. (less)
