[Mrs. Y Reviews] Short Stories: About Giving Care by Mimi Mathis, Elsie Mathis and Oliver Robins.

Book Cover via Amazon.com

It’s sometimes a very tough thing to take care of a loved one, especially an elderly loved one. There is a lot of heart and soul that goes into the work, and it can be draining at times. The drain isn’t just for those who are doing the work, but also for the individual who is cared for. Today’s book is an uplifting set of short stories about caring for someone and meant to inspire. So, without further delay, be sure you wash your hands, take the time to smell the roses, and invite someone to go fishing once and awhile. Today I am reviewing “Shortt Stories about Giving Care” by Mimi Mathis, Elsie Mathis, and Oliver Robins. 

Opinion

I’ve got some background with the subject matter, so I had this collection on my “Amazon Recommends” list most likely because of what I purchase and what I read. This short story collection is on Kindle Unlimited, which is terrific. I am delighted that Amazon is starting to figure out what it is I gravitate toward reading even though the authors request most of my reviews for themselves, and fill a whole list of various genres. So I picked this up on Kindle Unlimited, and you can too.

Let me start this review with my first impressions. The stories that the collection begins with had my heart in my hands, and I could feel all of my emotions so vividly. There are things about this book that choked me up and made me cry but in a good way. I never sobbed for sadness, only what I felt stirred up inside and that is important to me when I read short stories because I want to explore certain feelings that are brought up.

For this next part of the review, I’m going to go into some critiques. From my “Story Structure, Foundation and Presentation” portion of my scoring I found no spaces between paragraphs. Without some kind of space between paragraphs, on an e-book copy, a wall of text can be daunting to a reader, and possibly cause eye pain.

All of that said, let me go into what I loved about “Short Stories: About Giving Care” and the first thing I want to cover is the clever use of illustrations, and the fine margins on the page. There also were lovely indentations on the book. Whoever did the spot editing, and what I mean by that is, whoever made sure the grammar, spelling, punctuation and word choice was just right, deserves a steak dinner. The pen strokes were expertly compiled on this book, I can tell, and I enjoyed how much care was put into it.

And let me just say, the illustrations are so beautiful. I mean they really are the right little touch to the book. I know, there are people who dislike illustrations in adult fiction or even short story collections. Well, I am not one of those who dislikes illustrations. A tasteful illustration in the right spot really can make or break a mood, or set the tone to a whole new level.

One of my favorite short stories from this collection was a historical fiction, in which a woman was saying thank you to a doctor who cared for her. All he did was a basic thing we take for granted now with modern medicine. And yet, because he was bold enough to suggest such a thing, he was ridiculed. This story deeply touched me. I feel that those who care about others regardless of what passion they have for doing so, are important people and should be respected. But I also know that passion for a project can be misunderstood and rub people the wrong way. This story was very important to me.

Lastly, I want to talk about how good this collection made me feel. This is not a series of stories for just anyone. This is a series of stories if you have ever cared for a senior and loved them through that time. You do not have to be family to care about someone who is elderly and needs you. There is something so beautiful about the work. I have personally helped four people sundown into the end of their days. I was there when both of my grandmothers each closed their eyes the last time. One of them, she was on oxygen, and I carried for her rather than go to College for my freshman year after graduating high school. I did that so my parents could work without missing days, and so that I could spend time with my Grandma. I mean, after all, Grandma took care of me when I was little, I wanted to return the favor. The impact that time had on my life is something I feel even to this day. I take the job seriously, and I think that we should all have care and compassion from the moment we are born to the moment we take our last breath. This book touched my soul and reaffirmed my opinion on it.


Score

With all of the math from my scoring in mind, the score that “Short Stories: About Giving Care” received a 97/100 and that is a five-star rating on Goodreads and Amazon. If you meet the target audience of this book, you should pick these up. I found them uplifting, and I would love to spread that kind of positivity to those who work for people they care about.