The collected works comprises all previously published poetry of Eric Fischer as well as unpublished poems. This, the revised and extended 3rd edition, includes all poems from 1995 to 2016.
Dutch-born Canadian living in Israel. Physical therapist since 1990 specializing in Shiatsu, ortho-ergonomics and pain management. Former full time caregiver to catastrophically disabled son.
Eric Fischer and I share an experience: caring for a child with significant disabilities. In some ways we are brothers, not in arms, but a different kind of struggle... a struggle of endurance... a struggle to keep one's sanity.
After finishing, I set this book of poems aside and stared into the blankness. I know the feelings he evokes with his words. I have felt my life shatter before me. I've looked at its remnants and wondered if I'd ever adjust, ever have the energy to reassemble it... or even care to. The physical exhaustion: I ached for sleep like a starving man, like a strung-out junkie, like the undead. I understood the difference between merely tired and delirium. The emotional exhaustion: I could feel my very soul ripping apart. I learned that courage was getting up each day to face a life that only got worse, and doing what had to be done... no matter how unpleasant, how painful, how utterly pointless...
Eric Fischer knows this life. His book proclaims him a broken man that cannot be broken. I like that sentiment very much. It captures my feeling exactly. You can't hurt me any more than I've already been hurt. I have been broken... and those shattered remains are unbreakable.
A heartfelt, indepth anthology of poetry spanning 20 years which deals with extreme caregiving for a disabled child. Eric's poetry reflects a deep humanity and insight into life and into death, Each poem is a meditation, to be read, to be reflected upon and to be integrated into one's experience. If you are the parent and caregiver of of a disabled child, if you know someone who has a disabled child or lost a child to death, if you are interested in probing the depths of living a worthy life...you must read this book of poetry. These works will touch your soul and perhaps make you a better person. A true must read!
I probably wasn't as interested in this book as I should have been, since I am younger and do not have as broad of a vocabulary as Mr. Fischer does. This book was enlightening, but not as thought provoking as I hoped it would be.