I loved the book To Dance With The White Dog, by Terry Kay. When I firs

I loved the book To Dance With The White Dog, by Terry Kay. When I first started reading, I was afraid this was going to be another depressing book about old people and I wasnt feel forward to reading it.I loved the book To Dance With The White Dog, by Terry Kay. When Ifirst started reading, I was afraid this was going to be anotherdepressing book about old people and I wasnt looking forward toreading it. However, I was soon taken in by the sweet, humorous SamPeek and couldnt put down the book. I was moved by the strong love hehad for his beloved wife Cora and even more(prenominal) so by his strength tocarry on aft(prenominal) her death. I think it was wonderful how Sams familycame together, even in the days after Coras death, to look after him.I thought it was funny how his daughters worried about him andquestioned his sanity at times while the whole time Sam knew exactlywhat they were thinking of him and how they fretted. I really enjoyedNeelie and even though she seemed to get on the childrens nerves youcould tell that having her there helped ease their minds. The childrenknew Neelie had their fathers best interest at heart even if she did operate to nit pick and talk too much. I really envied the pissedness ofthe Peek family and their love and concern, even if they did go a bitoverboard at times. It was not only heartwarming, but truly amusing aswell, in the way that Sam Peek dealt with them. He would play intotheir worries and concerns.Sam Peek went from being a pretty independent man to what appeared tohis children as fragile, senile and helpless overnight with the deathof Cora. From the moment his wife died Sams ability to take care ofhimself immediately came into question, at least by ... ...of theirlives. Unfortunately, that is not always possible due to financialreasons, failing health or lack of family to help out. Sam was luckythat his family lived close by and could look out for him. Thisenabled him to stay home until the very end and in essen ce probablyprolonged his life. He was also lucky that he stayed pretty healthyfor as long as he did. Many elderly people arent so lucky and musttotally rely on someone else to help them with their daily needs muchlike a toddler needs their mother. It is sad for many to lose theirindependence and even harder to strike to rely on their children forcare when they are the parent, but thats what families are for, to bethere for one another. Our parents raised us to be who were are todayand the least we can do in return is to be sure that they are giventhe best care possible in their old age.