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Chosen for August by Tom Cunliffe of A Common Reader
Teach us to Sit Still by Tim Parks
Noted novelist and translator Tim Parks has departed from his usual themes to write this autobiographical account of his journey from a life dominated by acute pain to one where a reasonable equilibrium between body and soul enables him to live in relative comfort and healthy productivity. Teach Us To Sit Still will be of great interest to anyone with a chronic medical condition which the doctors seem unable to cure, but also to anyone who is concerned about work/life balance and the long-term effects of ignoring the body’s needs. I can’t say I’m in any either of those categories but I still found it a fascinating read. But the book is not only about pain and a quest for healing, for Tim, being the writer and scholar that he is, digresses frequently into philosophical and literary themes which break up the stark accounts of medical processes. Tim Parks developed a set of problems in the region of prostate, groin and pelvis which had a devastating effect on his life. I can only admire Tim for his candour in sharing with his readers the daily humiliations caused by his complaint – going to the loo six or seven times a night may be manageable at home, but not while sharing a room with fellow attendees of a conference. By the end of the book, it is evident that Tim has recovered from his chronic pelvic pain and has noticed other benefits too, such as improved posture, and a more balanced outlook. It has been a long and tortuous journey and his readers have shared it with him. I think most people would recognise the need for more centredness in their lives, and I think many readers would see how mediation practices could help them with niggling symptoms which inhabit the background of their lives, if not occupying a more dominant position.
You can read this and many more reviews here: http://acommonreader.org/teach-us-to-sit-still-tim-parks/
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Price: £12.99 £11.99
