Okay, it's been a while since our last episode, but don't worry--we were not fighting. There were no fisticuffs. Most importantly, Mom's okay! But it was a grueling couple of months for all of us as Mom fought her way back from a significant health setback. Who knew that you could get a burst fracture in two vertebrae from violent coughing? Put this in the category of things we would rather not learn through experience. And when life gives you burst vertebrae, we recommend a good drink and talking about a great book, in this case Roz Chast's graphic memoir, Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?

Simply put, everyone needs to read this book. Whether you are a child caring for an aging parent, or a middle-aged parent contemplating the fate of your child wading through decades of your accumulated "treasures," or a child who thinks his parents are bad now (just wait!), this book is for you. It is poignant, funny and profound, and says out loud many of the things you might have been thinking but could not find the words for, or perhaps did not feel you could say out loud. As Chast describes her realization so aptly,

"The piles of newspapers, magazines, and junk mail had grown larger . . . and they themselves had grown frailer. I could see that they were slowly leaving the sphere of TV commercial old age--Spry! Totally Independent! Just like a normal adult, but with silver hair!--and moving into the part of old age that was scarier, harder to talk about, and not a part of this culture. Something was coming down the pike (p. 20).

Chast's book gives us a way to starting talking about the thing we can't name that's coming down the pike. While we would love to include the fantastic drawings she has created to accompany the profound truth that she distills into a caption, we suspect her work is copyrighted. So instead here's a pic of the drinks we got at Skein & Tipple, our favorite speakeasy/yarn store in Clinton, on Whidbey Island in Washington (note the crocheted coasters--simply divine). Inspired by their Hornet Murder libation, we offer up this drink recipe with deep gratitude for all the people who helped us through this, and most of all for Mom, for being okay. We love you, Mom.