cover image Detour

Detour

Grace H. Kaiser. Good Books, $15.95 (192pp) ISBN 978-0-934672-87-0

In her first book, Dr. Frau: A Woman Doctor Among the Amish , Kaiser described her work as an obstetrician in the Old Order Amish/Mennonite community in rural Pennsylvania. Here she describes how her career, during which she raised her own children, came to an abrupt end with a spinal cord injury that left her a quadriplegic. Interwoven with the details of her arduous therapy are vignettes of the Amish mothers and children in a reversal of roles, visiting her as a patient, bringing simple homemade gifts and reliving memories of her as their doctor. A journal format also tracks the progress of the author's spiritual awakening, which continues to support her and her husband in their new life. In her straightforward, occasionally banal narrative of personal survival, Kaiser also celebrates Amish simplicity. (July)