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The Last Leaf

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Sue and Johnsy are two girlfriends who live together in New York City. When Johnsy becomes sick one winter, she makes up her mind to die when the last leaf falls from the ivy plant growing outside her window. Sue would do anything to help her friend get well, but she is a poor artist. As the winter wind blows and the rain falls, there seems no way to stop the last leaf from falling.

35 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1907

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About the author

O. Henry

2,910 books1,859 followers
Such volumes as Cabbages and Kings (1904) and The Four Million (1906) collect short stories, noted for their often surprising endings, of American writer William Sydney Porter, who used the pen name O. Henry.

His biography shows where he found inspiration for his characters. His era produced their voices and his language.

Mother of three-year-old Porter died from tuberculosis. He left school at fifteen years of age and worked for five years in drugstore of his uncle and then for two years at a Texas sheep ranch.

In 1884, he went to Austin, where he worked in a real estate office and a church choir and spent four years as a draftsman in the general land office. His wife and firstborn died, but daughter Margaret survived him.

He failed to establish a small humorous weekly and afterward worked in poorly-run bank. When its accounts balanced not, people blamed and fired him.

In Houston, he worked for a few years until, ordered to stand trial for embezzlement, he fled to New Orleans and thence Honduras.

Two years later, he returned on account of illness of his wife. Apprehended, Porter served a few months more than three years in a penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. During his incarceration, he composed ten short stories, including A Blackjack Bargainer , The Enchanted Kiss , and The Duplicity of Hargraves .

In 1899, McClure's published Whistling Dick's Christmas Story and Georgia's Ruling .

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he sent manuscripts to New York editors. In the spring of 1902, Ainslee's Magazine offered him a regular income if he moved to New York.

In less than eight years, he became a bestselling author of collections of short stories. Cabbages and Kings came first in 1904 The Four Million, and The Trimmed Lamp and Heart of the West followed in 1907, and The Voice of the City in 1908, Roads of Destiny and Options in 1909, Strictly Business and Whirligigs in 1910 followed.

Posthumously published collections include The Gentle Grafter about the swindler, Jeff Peters; Rolling Stones , Waifs and Strays , and in 1936, unsigned stories, followed.

People rewarded other persons financially more. A Retrieved Reformation about the safe-cracker Jimmy Valentine got $250; six years later, $500 for dramatic rights, which gave over $100,000 royalties for playwright Paul Armstrong. Many stories have been made into films.

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5 stars
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4 stars
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3 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 577 reviews
Profile Image for Maureen .
1,712 reviews7,499 followers
December 1, 2023
Sue and Johnsy were girlfriends, artists who lived together in Greenwich Village, until that terrible day when Johnsy was struck down with pneumonia.
“Mr. Pneumonia was not what you would call a chivalric old gentleman”

Johnsy decides that she will die when the last ivy leaf falls from the tree outside their window. Sue can’t bear the thought of her dear friend dying, but she can’t seem to get through to her, she won’t eat or listen to Sue’s pleas.

O. Henry certainly doesn’t need a novel of great length to convey his powerful and heartwarming messages. Such a sweet little story!
Profile Image for Murray.
Author 151 books745 followers
July 8, 2024
Heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. You know, this is really like a parable. Or a fable by Aesop. If I did not know who the author was I’d have almost sworn (almost, for the Irishman has his own style) that Oscar Wilde wrote this. It’s so much in the spirit of The Happy Prince.

Moving. The kind of short story you don’t easily forget. I know some feel O. Henry sentimentalizes his tales. I honestly don’t have trouble with his style at all. They are like modern fairy tales, really, folk tales, along the lines of Hans Christian Andersen.

It will take less than ten minutes to read. I hope it lights a candle. You can find the story online for free at owleyes.org.

“It is the last one,” said Johnsy. “I thought it would surely fall during the night. I heard the wind. It will fall today, and I shall die at the same time.”

🍂 🖼️ 🎨
Profile Image for Sara.
Author 1 book934 followers
February 10, 2023
The moment I began reading this, I knew I had read it before. An excellent story, done in O.Henry's inimitable style. The master of his genre!
Profile Image for Cheri.
2,041 reviews2,966 followers
October 6, 2019
"I want to see the last one fall. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of thinking. I want to turn loose my hold on everything, and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves."

A short story that is about two women, Sue and Johnsy, who live together in an apartment building in Greenwich Village, NYC, which is the setting for this short story, the only setting, adding an element of intensity to this story that helps to balance the somewhat melancholic, wistful longing.

I read this after recently reading my goodreads good friend Linda’s review, which prompted me to add this!

Linda’s review link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Profile Image for Flo.
649 reviews2,245 followers
January 15, 2018
"It is the last one," said Johnsy. "I thought it would surely fall during the night...

"Dear, dear!" said Sue, leaning her worn face down to the pillow, "think of me, if you won't think of yourself. What would I do?"

But Johnsy did not answer. The lonesomest thing in all the world is a soul when it is making ready to go on its mysterious, far journey. The fancy seemed to possess her more strongly as one by one the ties that bound her to friendship and to earth were loosed.

A good story. Even though I prefer language with a little less sugar when dealing with certain matters. (Good grief, Hemingway, is that you?)

Dec 10, 15
* Also on my blog.
Profile Image for Linda.
152 reviews110 followers
June 9, 2019
This story captured my heart in junior high school many moons ago. I believe it began my love for short stories . I have thought of it many times over the years..especially in the fall when I would catch sight of a tree with only the last few leaves left upon it. Tonight was the first time I had read it once again and the magic remained. A story that would linger in the heart of a young girl for so many years is deserving of no less than 5 stars.
Profile Image for Dem.
1,263 reviews1,431 followers
December 18, 2015
Faboulus little book that I will certainly try to get a copy of for my library.

I love little stoies like this that have so much meaning in so little pages.

Wonderful and enlightening.

Profile Image for Antoinette.
1,049 reviews237 followers
October 20, 2019
This is a short story but a powerful story! It is a story that touches upon human kindness and the power of believing. Believing in the positives. It’s one of those stories that make you sigh and hope and pray that the goodness of people will always shine through!!

As per Peter Gabriel:

“ Bright before me the signs implore me
Help the needy and show them the way.
Human kindness is overflowing,
And I think it’s gonna rain today.....”

Everyone should read this story !!
484 reviews108 followers
January 18, 2022
I enjoyed this short about a person's willingness to die rather than live.
Profile Image for Preetam Chatterjee.
6,736 reviews355 followers
March 1, 2025
Death is the unconditional truth of life. Yet, dying is a fact that all of us dread the most. It is the trepidation of death which makes us live life not to the fullest. Only the heroic and the audacious people challenge and overcome the terror of death. This short story talks about the beauty of life and the faith in living life. It deals with the consequence of living, with the audacity of overcoming the fear of death and moreover the enthusiasm to deal with the impediments we need to conquer, so as to write a flourishing story of our life.

Johnsy is taken ill by Pneumonia one November and she thinks that she is going to depart this life. She connects her demise with the falling of leaves of the ivy tree that is outside her window. She thinks that the instant the last leaf falls; she is going to breathe her last. But when Behrman paints a leaf on the tree after the last leaf falls, she gathers back her optimism to live and gets well.

It is the keenness to live life which can make us get over many hurdles in life. Death is a noteworthy feature of one’s life, but when death saturates our mind and soul, we die much before death in fact occurs. O. Henry seems to be suggesting here that one should not fear death and that is the only way the presence of death in our life can be obliterated and life can be made an interesting journey.

A quick look on the ‘irony’ in the story. The irony ;ies in the way events unfold contrary to expectations, particularly in Behrman’s sacrifice and Johnsy’s recovery.

Situational Irony: Johnsy, a young and hopeful girl, loses the will to live, believing that she will die when the last leaf falls. However, the old and seemingly unimportant artist, Behrman, who has never painted a masterpiece, sacrifices his life to paint a leaf on the wall to save Johnsy. The painted leaf does not fall, giving Johnsy hope and strength to recover, but Behrman, who had been healthy, catches pneumonia while painting in the cold and dies.

Dramatic Irony: The reader realizes before Johnsy does that the last leaf she believes to be real is actually a painting. This leaf, which was meant to symbolize death, ironically becomes a symbol of hope and survival.

The story beautifully highlights how Behrman unknowingly creates his greatest masterpiece—not just as a painting, but as an act of selfless love and sacrifice.
Profile Image for Magdalen.
224 reviews113 followers
February 6, 2017
Four characters and a few pages that's all it took for O. Henry to write this heart warming, touching, bittersweet short story.
The themes of love, death, sacrifice are found in this short gem. I guess the last leaf symbolizes the last hope of life that people hold on to. It's a beautifully and simply written story.
Profile Image for Arsh.
40 reviews13 followers
May 8, 2022
The only thing that I can think about right now is the ending...I knew it was coming but it was still very saddening...but overall...it was pretty amazing. O. Henry's stories have some bitter but true life lessons in a most intricate way.
133 reviews128 followers
March 5, 2018
'The Last Leaf' is an excellent story. First, I read it in school. Now after years I read it again and found out what I missed in my first reading, and how my teachers were implicated in telling us only the 'safer' aspects of the story. They told us about friendship, concern, help and so forth, but they did not even slightly mention any other dimension, for instance, of same-sex love. I would have done the same if I were in their shoes.

With adult hindsight, I see how this short story is about same-sex love. To state it more clearly, this story can fit into an anthology of modern-day LGBTQ writings. It is a story of two young women artists, Johnsy and Sue, who live together. One of them gets sick, and the other brings her back to health by her devotion and care.

In the story, these two women are almost depicted like a homosexual couple. They live together and they deeply care for each other. In the story, we are told that they meet in a restaurant and learn that they have many things in common. They move in a shared flat. But I assume that there is more to this 'move' that O' Henry did not 'dare to speak its name' hundred years ago, he did not spell it out for us, however, he suggested its depth and its existence in very clear terms.

At one point in the story, the doctor tells Sue that he cannot save those patients who lose will to live. He goes on to ask her Johnsy's condition has anything to do with a 'man.' This how they speak in the story;

“She has a very small chance,” he said. “She has a chance, if she wants to live. If people don’t want to live, I can’t do much for them. Your little lady has decided that she is not going to get well. Is there something that is troubling her?”
“She always wanted to go to Italy and paint a picture of the Bay of Naples,” said Sue.
“Paint! Not paint. Is there anything worth being troubled about? A man?”
“A man?” said Sue. “Is a man worth—No, doctor. There is not a man.”

This is interesting how sharply Sue brushes aside this conjecture as if she is offended in some deep way. 'Is a man worth' also shows a very firm feminist streak in her, which only means that 'men' do not figure in their lives in the way doctor seems to have imagined. Later in the story, she helps and takes care of Johnsy in every possible manner. She acts like a seasoned lover. She chides Johnsy for imagining weird things about her sickness. For instance, Sue speaks to her with the poignancy of a sad lover. These words indicate their deep same-sex love. “Dear, dear Johnsy!” said Sue. “Think of me, if you won’t think of yourself. What would I do?”

There are also two other things in the story that make us see the connections between very visible contemporary gay life to the lives that were lived a century ago. It is interesting to see how Mr. Pneumonia enters the Greenwich village to infect its residents. Most of these residents are unusual in many ways, they are struggling artists, failed artists, people who want to do extraordinary things, and come from different parts of the country to inhabit this particular place, and be in the company of those who share their passion, their ways of being in the world. The story in these ways shows both the dangers and rewards that life poses to queer people without naming names.
Profile Image for trestitia ⵊⵊⵊ deamorski.
1,539 reviews448 followers
September 26, 2017
Bu kitabın doğru edisyon altında olduğunu düşünmemekle birlikte (ben eklemedim, varmış), bendekinin 54 basım olup 14 hikaye olduğunu belirteyim.

İlk defa O. Henry okuyorum ve şu fenomen 'fakir iki sevgilinin birbirlerine hediye almak için, habersiz, biri saçını satıp saat zinciri, öteki saatini sararak fil dişi tarak aldığı o acıklı hikaye'nin aslı bu amcaymış meğersem.

Sohbet havasında, kıssadan hisse havasında, didaktik ve sürprizli sonlarla, sade bir dille yazılmış hikayeler. Hani bu artık internet köşelerinde görebildiğimiz, bir zamanlar forumların vazgeçilmezi hikayeler gibi.
Bu arada yazar Amerikalı. Kent ve kentli manzarasını basitçe aktarıvermiş.

Son Yaprak, Define, Kan Davası, Bir Harlem Faciası adlı öykülere gerçekten bayıldım. Diğerleri de çok güzeldi ama bunlardan ayrı bir tat aldım ben. Özellikle Kan Davası diğerlerinden bence farklıydı.

Ben de bir de MEB'den 94'de çıkma bir kitabı daha var seçilmiş öyküleri olarak, 3 öykü ortak sadece. Yarın gidip edisyonu bulamazsam ekleyip başlarım belki.

Bir veda cümlesi bulamadım.
Esenlikle
iko
Profile Image for Divya Darshani.
59 reviews30 followers
February 11, 2024
Such a heartwarming story!! It is written in such a simple way, yet it is so impactful. Through this story, the author aims to highlight how important it is for a person to have will power and hope. It proves the proverb Where there's a will there's a way.The ending of the story is slightly bittersweet but give it a try; it's just a short read which will redefine your idea of love and life.❤️

The most heart touching lines:
"The lonesomest thing in all the world is a soul when it is making ready to go on its mysterious, far journey. The fancy seemed to possess her more strongly as one by one the ties that bound her to friendship and to earth were loosed."
Profile Image for Aditi Jaiswal.
121 reviews154 followers
March 31, 2020
"Young artists must pave their way to art by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors write to pave their way to literature."
But to create a masterpiece, you just need to put your heart and soul in your work because you never know whose life your art can save. This short story is a testament, that to write a masterpiece, you just need a pen, few pages and a heart!
Profile Image for Yas.
650 reviews70 followers
October 29, 2025
وای یعنی آخرش😳😂✨️
Profile Image for Sepideh Tafazzoli.
203 reviews25 followers
May 8, 2013
In my opinion, the message lying behind last leaf’s short story, message that comes through most powerfully is that you should not judge people by their outward appearances or social persona. The story describes the artist that lives beneath, Behrman, as an old drunk who had never found success and hated weakness though he goes out in the middle of a storm to paint a leaf for Johnsy. This self-sacrifice is an interesting point why would he do such a thing earlier in the story he laughed at the idea of counting the leaves. The story does foreshadow him painting the leaf in that he is always talking about the masterpiece he is going to paint and how he is a protector of the two young women that live above him. Now the inference that can be taken from his actions is that he had touched no one with his art, he had no true masterpieces. By painting the last leaf he insured that Johnsy would be affected by his art, even only to get her through her illness. He paints a leaf in the pouring rain just for her and so she would pull through. She realized her foolishness when the leaf had staid and made a complete turnaround. The work done by Behrman saved her life.
Profile Image for Wesal.
276 reviews111 followers
September 26, 2019
قصة قصيرة جداً تحمل رسالة عظيمة جداً
تكررت على مسامعي بعدة صور مختلفة وانتشرت في وسائل التواصل بتحديثات متعددة ولكني لم أعلم بأنها قصة لكاتب كبير فاق عمرها القرن
هي واحدة من تلك القصص القصيرة التي تترك أثراً في نفسك ربما أكثر من الأثر الذي تتركه بعد الكتب ذات المئات من الصفحات
رسالة رائعة في دور مرافق المريض أو أهل أي مريض كان..رسالة تلخص دور من ابتلاهم الله بمرض أحد أحبتهم ..وكيفية التضحية والحفاظ على الأمل ورباطة الجأش والكثير الكثير من الحب لتخطي المرحلة المرضية الصعبة
رسالة لكل مريض عن أعجوبة الجسم البشري في التعافي ومعالجة نفسه بتواجد الأمل و الثقة
رسالة لكل طبيب ليرى الهدف الأسمى الإنساني في مهنته والتخلي عن التعامل مع مهنته كتجارة ومصدر رزق فقط والمرضى كحالات متشابهة لا فرق بينها
رسالة لجميع البشر لتقدير الفن وأثره في حياتنا وفي نفسياتنا وتعزيز رسالته المتجددة عبر العصور كرمز للطمأنينة والحب والسلام

الجدير بالذكر أنه أنتجت العديد من الأفلام و التسجيلات الصوتية لهذه القصة الجميلة
Profile Image for ناصر سليم.
549 reviews26 followers
July 14, 2019
با خوندن چند سطر و رسیدن به اون جایی که دخترک مریض برگ ‌های پیچک و میشماره، به ناگاه یاد دوران دبستانم افتادم یا شاید دوره راهنمایی! من کارتون این داستان و دیده بودم ولی خود داستان و تا به امروز نخونده بودم ...
واقعا که داستان کوتاه عالی بود با یک پایان عالی‌تر...
فکر کنم اولین پنج ستاره‌ایی باشه که تا الان به کتاب‌های خونده شده‌ام دادم.
Profile Image for Mahsa  fanaei.
213 reviews22 followers
February 6, 2017
این داستان کوتاه رو بارها به شکل ها و زبان های مختلف خوندم و شنیدم و چی می تونم بگم جز اینکع عالی بود؟!
شاهکار برمان و فداکاریش
بله، آدمیزاد برای زندگی کردن و ادامه دادن به امید احتیاج داره؛ حتی یه امید الکی و مصنوعی
Profile Image for K. Anna Kraft.
1,175 reviews38 followers
November 2, 2020
I've arranged my thoughts into a haiku:

"A lone slender vine.
A false, manufactured thing.
And a masterpiece."
Profile Image for Sarah.
96 reviews7 followers
October 30, 2022
Oh my!!! I remember when I was 12 years old, a few months before my dad died. My mom was visiting relatives out of town, so it was just him and me. He read me two bedtime stories that night. One was O. Henry's, "The Gift of the Magi". That story has been treasured in my heart ever since.

I just read this short story by O. Henry, and without giving anything away... my heart just melted. This story is classic and reminded me of that precious night that my dad was still teaching me life lessons.
Profile Image for Shrilaxmi.
294 reviews69 followers
April 30, 2021
I loved this story. The ending was totally unexpected. I like the way O' Henry personifies pneumonia and describes his characters. The writing is so simple but it teaches you a lot about love and sacrifice. The way humour and tragedy is mixed is exceptional. This story will stay with me forever.
Profile Image for Yassmeen Altaif.
899 reviews86 followers
September 26, 2019
يكفي أن أقول إنها قصة إنسانية.

كيف يعتمد المريض على نفسية وشجاعة من حوله وتقويته لتقبل مرضه والشفاء.

قصة بسيطة حتى بالإمكان أن تحكى للصغار قبل النوم.
أو حتى استغلالها في دورات التنمية الذاتية وغيرها.

ولماذا لا تضع في غرف استراحة المستشفيات، لعلها ترشد أحدا ما.
Profile Image for I.Shayan.
206 reviews
September 3, 2017
چه شاهکار هنری بزرگ تر از جون کسی رو نجات دادن
همون کاری که جراح ها در سرتاسر دنیا هرروز انحام میدن
Profile Image for Niradhip.
41 reviews2 followers
November 25, 2014
Wonderful story, demonstrates the power of hope and belief. The supremacy of faith in life, changes the course of existence altogether. The metaphor of masterpiece is magnificently described. Masterpiece is not something which can be described as a materialistic entity; rather it’s a self-explanatory deed which doesn’t really require any introduction or admiration. Masterpiece would be created automatically when we realize the real purpose of life. I would like to give 3.5 to ‘The Last Leaf’.
Profile Image for Brian Yahn.
310 reviews609 followers
December 17, 2015
The Last Leaf is one of those short stories where at the end you grin and say, "I see what you did there." Unfortunately, where most of O Henry's works are voice-y and entertaining, this one seems like it's ripped out of a Hemingway collection.
Profile Image for Rabab Al.aswad.
393 reviews76 followers
October 1, 2019
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" الورقة الاخيرة "هي قصة قصيرة كتبها أو. هنري، و نشرت عام 1907 ضمن المجموعة القصصية المصباح المشذب و قصص أخرى.
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في هذه الحياة يحتاج الإنسان أن يعيش على الأمل ولابد له أن يحاول إبعاد اليأس وتشتيته من قوقعة عقله، ولكن بعض اليأس وفقدان الأمل يكون متعلق ببعض المعتقدات التي يربط الإنسان نفسه ومصيره وحياته وفشله ونجاحه بهذا المعتقد، ويعيش عليه وينتظر تحققه حتى يقتل مابقى من ذرة أمل بداخله، ويفقد راحة بدنه وعقله وتفارقه الصحة وسيكون رهينة للأمراض. وهو الخطأ الكبير الذي يقع فيه بعض البشر ويكونون هم السبب في معاناتهم وتدمير أنفسهم وصحتهم.
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هذه القصة قديمة جداً إلا أنها قدمت لنا دروس جميلة ورائعة نحتاجها في حياتنا هذه وتناسب كل الأزمان لأنها قصة إنسانية تُحاكي واقع الكثير من الناس في متاهات هذه الحياة.
وأيضاً هي قصيرة جداً لم تتعدى ١٠ صفحات ولكن بكل صفحة منها وجدتُ حكمة جميلة وأمل يصارع اليأس، وحياة تتكالب على الموت، والفن يُكشّر أنيابه لينهش الأفكار السلبية والإعتقادات ويثبت بأنه الأقوى ويستطيع تغيير أفكار من ينغمس فيه ويعيشه على أنه واقع ويصل في النهاية إلى بر الأمان بسبب هذا الفن على اختلافه.
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قدّم لنا الكاتب في هذه القصة أكثر من ورقة وصولاً للورقة الأخيرة:
🗒 الورقة الأولى: لكل إنسان خصّه الله بالإبتلاء وفقد تاج الصحة وميزه بمرض قاسٍ ويعاني من آلآمه ويفقد بسببه الإحساس بالراحة والسعادة والنوم دون منغصات الوجع، وأصحابه المسكّنات والمغذي والأدوية، ويعيش في تحدي كبير للحياة والوجع والمجتمع لابد أن يتذكر بأن الذي خلقه ووهبه نعمة الإبتلاء لم يختاره لهذا العناء عبث، إنما لسبب وهدف، ومن سلبنا الصحة لابد إنه عوضنا وميزنا بأمور ونِعم لا تُعد ولا تُحصى. وهو معنا في كل معاناتنا ويمدنا بالقوة والصبر ويحتاج منا أن نملك قوة إرادة وتحدي للمرض وألمه وتقديم جرعات من الأمل للنفس رغم الألم، وعدم ربط مصير الحياة والموت ببعض الاعتقادات وإنتظار الموت دون يقين بأن هناك من يملك ورقة حياتنا ومماتنا وليس هذه الأفكار السلبية وهذه الأمور التي لا صحة لوجودها وماهي إلا أوهام يمضي عليها اليائس من الحياة والمنهك من قسوة مرضه ولا يمكن لومه فالمرض شيء مزعج ومتعب ولكن لا يعني نهاية الحياة، والحالة النفسية نصف العلاج. تنهار الحالة الصحية بانهيار الحالة النفسية، المرض لا يقتل بل الموت يأتي عندما تنتهي مدة ضيافتنا في الحياة وليس بسبب المرض أو اعتقاد ووهم بائس، وبيد المريض أن يساعد نفسه ليستعيد صحته وبيده تدميرها من سيء إلى أسوأ. المرض يحتاج إلى قوة، فالضعف يقضي على حياة المريض بكل سهولة.
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🗒 الورقة الثانية: الطبيب المعالج للمريض والطاقم التمريضي الذي يكون مسؤل عن المريض. يلعب وجودهم دور كبير في حياة المريض سواء كان بالسلب أو الإيجاب، هم بنظره ملائكة رحمة يسعون جاهدين للحفاظ على أرواح البشر، من الرائع أن يشعر المريض وذويه بإنسانية الطبيب والممرض ومدى اهتمامهم بنفسيته وصحته ووضعه، ولابد من شعوره بالأمان والاطمئنان لينام بأمان وهو بين أيديهم. بعكس لو كان الطبيب لايعتني بالمرضى واهماله لا حدَّ له ويحطّم نفسية المريض وذويه بكلامه وأحياناً بعدم مبالاته، وكأنه يعمل ليستلم الراتب في نهاية الشهر لا أكثر وهذا النوع من الأطباء هم من يتسببون بزيادة معاناة المريض وانتكاسة حالته الصحية والنفسية ولا يستحقون هذه المهنة.
مهنة الطب مهنة إنسانية بحت وتحتاج لإنسان بمعنى الكلمة حتى يستحق لقب طبيب أو ممرض.
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🗒 الورقة الثالثة: المقربين للمريض سواء كانوا الأهل، أو الأصدقاء، الزوج، هم العطاء الذي يحتاجه المريض، وجودهم واهتمامهم ورعايتهم به وبسعادته وراحته وعدم شعوره بأنه حمل ثقيل عليهم بل على العكس. كل هؤلاء لهم دور كبير في تحسن حالته النفسية وينعكس هذا التحسن على صحته الجسدية، فهو يستمد قوته وصبره وأمله وتحديه للمرض والتشبث بالحياة بكل أمل من الأهل والمقربين له. ويحتاج أن يشعر بأنَّ هؤلاء لديهم رضا تام بما يعانيه دون تبرم وملل من تكرار تعبه وحاجته للعلاج فهو لا يملك لنفسه ضراً ولا نفعا ولاذنب له بإصابته بالمرض فلابد من تحمله والرضا بوضعه الصحي حتى يصل هذا الرضا والقناعة وتقبل الواقع إلى قلب وحياة وعقل المريض نفسه، فيعيش متصالح مع مرضه ويتقبله مهما كان ومهما كانت معاناته وحاجاته وقسوته. فالدور الذي قدمته سو مرافقة المريضة كبير جداً ورسالة مهمة، فهذا العطاء أنقذ حياة فتاة بائسة أنهكها المرض ولو اهملتها هي والطبيب والرسام وتركوها تستمر على ماهي عليه لربما سقطت فعلاً ورحلت إلى العالم الآخر.
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🗒 الورقة الرابعة: المواهب التي يمتلكها الآخرين، سواء كان فنان بالرسم أو التمثيل أو الكتابة أو الموسيقى وغيرها من الأمور التي لها أثر كبير في نفوس الآخرين وربما تنقذ حياة من فقد الأمل بالحياة. وعلى من يمتلك فن على إختلافه عليه أن يُقدّر مايملك ولا يقلل من شأن هذا الفن، كالرسّام بيرمان الذي وهب الحياة لمن كانت تنتظر الموت في كل لحظة، كانت فكرته جميلة أعطى أمل وحياة وعِبرة تركتها لدى هذه الفتاة العليلة والتي كانت تعد يوم موتها، فكان الدور الكبير في هذه القصة هو هذا الرسّام الذي أعطى نموذج إنساني رائع، كان هدفه رسم حلمه الكبير ولكنه اختزله إلى موقف إنساني مهم أهم من السابق وحققه في الوقت المناسب ولم يكترث للحظة وللنهاية التي تنتظره. سخّر نفسه لحماية ورعاية هاتين الفتاتين حتى آخر رمق، هكذا تكون التضحية ومعنى الاهتمام والعطاء وتحمل المسؤلية.
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🗒 أما الورقة الأخيرة فهي الإنسان نفسه، كيف يصنع الحياة رغم الموت الذي يواجهه كل يوم؟ وعليه أن يسعى لتحقيق هدفه السامي الذي يسعى إلى تحقيقه رغم عقبات الحياة التي جعلته يتعثر، وعليه أن يعيش على يقين تام بأن يوماً ما سيحقق هدفه السامي، وسيكون هناك من ينتظر هذه السفينة لترسوا يوماً في أمواج حياته المتقلبة والمتعبة وتنتشله من الغرق الذي يعيشه. وهذا ماقدمه لنا هذا الرسام العجوز الذي وهب الحياة لمن يراه يستحق هذه الحياة لأنه في ريعان شبابها ولابد لها من البقاء على قيد الحياة وإن كان لابد من فقد سيكون حليف سواها.
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وعلى الانسان أن يمارس ما يحبه ويرتاح بممارسته وينسى أوجاعه ومرضه ومعاناته وأحزانه، ويجعله بمثابة سلاح يتحدى به الواقع الذي يعيشه، فالانغماس بالشيء الذي نحب يجعلنا نتناسى أوجاعنا مهما كانت ولا نستسلم لها بل نكن نحن الأقوى حتى نستطيع العيش والبقاء على قيد الحياة
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تمت قراءة هذا الكتاب مع اعضاء #تحدي_القراءة_١٢_ساعة وكان خيار جميل وموفق.
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#اقتباسات:
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{لم يكن الالتهاب الرئوي رجلاً عجوزاً شهماً. ولم يكن صراعه مع فتاة غضّة هزيلة من كاليفورنيا بالصراع المنصف والمتكافئ.}
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{لقد قرّرت صديقتك الصغيرة أنّها لا تريد أن تعيش. ولهذا فإن صحّتها لن تتحسّن.}
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{لكن عندما تبدأ مريضتي بإحصاء عدد عربات جنازتها فإنّ قدرة الدواء على إشفائها تنخفض خمسين بالمئة.}
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{لا بدّ أن يمهّد الفنانون طريقهم إلى الفن برسم صور توضيحية لمجلّات تنشر قصص مؤلفين شباب يمهّدون بدورهم طريقهم إلى الادب.}
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{لقد هدّني الانتظار. وهدّني التفكير. أريد أن أُرخي قبضتي على كل شيء وأن أسقط إلى أسفل-إلى أسفل مثل هذه الأوراق المرهقة المسكينة.}
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{فالمرء الأشد توحّداً في العالم يتحوّل إلى مجرد روح عندما يستعد للقيام برحلته البعيدة التي يلفّها الغموض.}
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{إنّها خطيئة أن يتمنى المرء أن يموت.}
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• ملاحظة: كل قارئ ينتقد ما يقرأه بحسب وجهة نظره الخاصة دون التقليل من شأن الكاتب، فلا يحق لِـ أحد مصادرة حق القارئ في نقده سواء كان بالإيجاب أو بالسلب ولا الاستهزاء بخيارات أحد القرائية لكل قارئ ذائقته، ولا تعتمد في خياراتك على أراء الآخرين بل أعطي نفسك فرصة لتقرأ وتحكم بنفسك، فما يعجب غيرك ليس بالضرورة يعجبك والعكس صحيح. وأي تشابه بين مراجعاتنا كـ قرّاء فهو محض صدفة لا غير.
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#البحرين_تقرأ #رباب_تقرأ #اخترت_متنفسي_بين_كتاب_وقلم #لكل_منا_عالمه_الخاص_وهنا_عالمي #ماذا_قدمت_لك_القراءة؟ #القراءة_نور #اتحدى_مصاعب_الحياة_وألمي_بالقراءة #لا_وحدة_مع_الكتاب #بادر_بالقراءة_واخلق_جيل_قارئ #أقرأ_لأن_حياة_واحدة_لا_تكفيني
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