Tuesday, 8 March 2011

elusivek: (Default)
Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat
David Dosa
Amazon Product Link

From Publishers Weekly
Dosa, a geriatrician with a strong aversion to cats, tells the endearing story of Oscar the cat, the aloof resident at a nursing home who only spends time with people who are about to die. Despite hearing numerous stories about Oscar's uncanny ability to predict when a patient's time is nearing, Dosa, ever the scientist, remains skeptical. Slowly, he starts to concede that there may be something special about Oscar. Dosa starts to pay more attention to the cat's decidedly odd behavior, noticing that Oscar seeks out the dying, snuggles with the patient and family members until the patient passes; with others, he smells the patient's feet, sits outside a closed door until admitted, or refuses to leave a dying patient's bed. Dosa discovers how powerfully Oscar's mere presence reassures frightened or grieving family. Ultimately, the good doctor realizes that it doesn't matter where Oscar's gift comes from; it's the comfort he brings that's important. This touching and engaging book is a must-read for more than just cat lovers; anyone who enjoys a well-written and compelling story will find much to admire in its unlikely hero. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Quite an interesting book. Didn't really focus too much on the cat Oscar, but the reader gets to learn about what the family has to face when a family member has dementia/Alzheimer's. All those descriptions led me thinking of my Grandma and ultimately, of the hard time my Mom had when she had to deal with her. I remember by the end, I was reluctant to go visit my Grandma because she didn't even know who I am anyway, and I thought it wouldn't make much of a difference if I did not show up. Little did i know back then that who needed me most wasn't Grandma but my very own Mom. So now I'm feeling a bit down because of that.

Overall a very interesting book, with a few typos inside, though I don't know if it's really a missed typo or the conversion to Kindle had some issues, but those were still minor errors.

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Agueda Umbrella
kat (DW: elusivek | LJ: notte0)
❤︎ loves dogs, dark chocolate, and books.
★ doesn’t exactly hate cats.
◆ hates white chocolate.
more?
I read books :-)

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