Returning to Earth

Warning – this book is way out of our usual genre. Returning to Earth was recommended by a friend, so I spent a day with it. Jim Harrison is a prolific author, but he’s never been reviewed in this blog. This 2007 novel is about Donald, a 45-yo man of Chippewa-Finnish descent, who is dying of ALS. The story takes place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Donald and his family are grieving for this loss and trying to put the matter in perspective. This work is done with taste and humanity. Donald’s wife, Cynthia, who takes down Donald’s dictation of his multigenerational history before it can be lost forever, says to her progressively more disabled husband, “Whoever we are isn’t for certain.”  The author had David, the brother-in-law of Donald say on a return trip from the deep woods, “I reminded myself that my persistent life question, ‘How do we live with what we know?’ didn’t cover everything and that I might humorously add, ‘How do we live with what we don’t know?’” If you’ve not already thought enough about life and death, or you feel the need to revisit the topic, this book will provide you with a vehicle for lots of contemplation.