All About Books discussion

Hi everyone, as many of you know, Gill, one of our long-time mods and members as well as a dear friend to many of us, has been increasingly ill lately with a brain tumor. Early on, she said that she did not want sympathy, but since then, she has posted a great deal of information on Facebook. Gill is no longer able to be online, but her daughters are passing on messages to her. The mods didn't want this time to pass without expressing how much we care about her and how much she is in our thoughts.

I was able to speak to Gill on the phone for the first time over Facebook messenger about a month ago, and it was such a pleasure to talk to her. As always, she loved poetry and she loved life!

Jean already linked one of her favorite poems by Mary Oliver, but I'll share it again here:

The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean--
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down --
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?

The last two lines she especially wanted everyone to remember! It was something of a campaign. Every day I get up, I try not to forget.

In the group Jean moderates, she shared the following: "I am thinking now of all our friends and relatives in hospices, or nursing homes, and all those who know that their days left on earth are coming to a close. People approach this in so many ways, and their inner courage is remarkable.

A dear Goodreads friend, Gill, finds herself in this position. Quite a few here will know her, as a regular member of another group which we both joined on the day it was formed. On Goodreads, her name is Gill Buckle: link here

For the past few years, Gill has regularly gone on cruises, and her posts were from all over the world. We joked that she was never at home! Almost a year ago though, Gill was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and life became very different. She did not keep this a secret, and said she did not want sympathy, but made it clear that she would no longer be able to post very much.

Recently she has been living in a nursing home, and her spirits have never failed. She has started to learn the accordion, and planned a tapestry of "The Firebird", met with bikers and sat on the back of a Harley Davidson, and supported her sports teams. Although in a wheelchair, she went on a marathon and walked 12 steps - a marvellous achievement! It was reported in her local paper. Best of all, she has enjoyed her visits from her daughters, granddaughters and many friends.

Throughout this time, Gill has posted her activities on Facebook, and shared her determined inspirational thoughts such as "The only day that belongs to the tumour is the day you die". She is a true brain tumour warrior."

I hope Gill and her family won't mind me sharing this one picture from Facebook that captures her indomitable spirit!

Thanks for creating this discussion, Greg, though I'm here again crying.
As said in the General Chit-Chat discussion, Gill is an inspiration for everyone. Her strong will, her love for life, are a real inspiration.

She will always be in my thoughts.

I think of Gill often. Thanks Greg for creating this thread and including that great photo.

Thanks Greg, that is a beautiful post. We should pass on our messages to Gill. She does have an amazing spirit and I think she has given us all a listen in living life to the full. I hope she is comfortable and aware of how much love there is for her, I am sure she is

It saddens me that such a energetic and inquiring mind has been struck with this illness. I shared many a wonderful book or poetry conversation with Gill and miss her presence greatly.

I think her best literary introduction, for me, was the poetry of Mary Oliver.

Thanks for posting this Greg. I can only echo everyone else, Gill has very much been on my mind lately and I'm so grateful that I came to know her through this group.

Thank you Greg, for creating this thread and sharing what I wrote about dear Gill. I think that lovely photo was around the time of her marathon.

She is so wonderful, I miss her daily postings. All the buddy reads with her, especially Faulkner were priceless. She is an amazing and courageous woman!

Like everyone else here , I’m missing Gill and hope that she knows how loved she is . While I was friends with Gill for a while, it wasn’t until three years ago when Gill and I participated in a group read of Ulysses with Petra, Evelyn, Renata and others that I really felt we had bonded. Her intelligence and wit came to life in that discussion. She has been a joy to connect with here. I want her to know she is in my thoughts and prayers.

Greg, thanks very much for setting up this thread .

Thank you for this thread.
I miss Gill every day. I hope she's comfortable and basking in her family. I feel that she can feel our love and caring. I hope so, anyway. There's so much love for her here.

Greg, Gill and I spoke over the phone a few times, too. I so enjoy talking with her in person. She's as bright and delightfully cheery in person as she is here. She's a very natural person.

Thank you for setting up the thread, Greg.

There are so many of us f that think of Gill, every day. I am sure I am not alone in this.

Anything I might say seems so totally inadequate.

Thanks Greg and everybody for all you've written.
I'm immensely happy to have had the opportunity of meeting Gill personally in one of her many rambles around the world. We met in Florence not two years ago, and exactly as in here, we talked of books, of travels, of life, of family, never leaving out her husband and a friend of mine - who can't speak English - who were with us.
Gill has always been an inclusive person, an open hand for all interested in her. She will be sorely miss, but up to a certain point: in a way she'll be always with us.
And this is not a way of saying ...

I've sorely missed Gill and she'll always be in my heart. She has been a warm and, as Laura says, inclusive person, always ready to give a hand where needed in this group. On the discussion thread relating to the Rougon-Macquart series by Emile Zola, I came to respect her insightful views on certain novels, views which widened my perspective.

I hope she's comfortable and knows how much she's loved. Love doesn't die.

I echo all the sentiments already expressed here, and aspire to Gill's mantra. Such a beautiful tribute to a beautiful soul. Even though Gill cannot be online anymore, I know in my heart that she is hearing our messages.

Thank you for this message. Gil was such an important part of the loving culture of this group.

Thanks, Greg. I echo Laura, Gill will always be with us. She truly is a wonderful lady. She has so much to teach all of us, she knows how to live life to the fullest and we should all learn this lesson from her. She is and will always be in my thoughts.

Thank you for setting up this thread Greg. I have been thinking about Gil a lot recently, and I will admire her strength and bravery. You picked a beautiful picture, to me she is and always will be a warrior.

Thanks, Greg. I have only been in this group for about 2 years so didn't know Gill as well as many of you, but often wonder about her and am so thankful you posted that. I miss her comments and insights here.

I love how she continues to live life as fully as she can and that you posted that one photo. She is a great example to us all!

I am keeping Laura in touch with more details, but if you like, please link here (to comment 597) for a little more about how dear Gill is, following my earlier post 545, which Greg has kindly copied in this commemorative thread, in comment 1.

Jean wrote: "I am keeping Laura in touch with more details, but if you like, please link here (to comment 597) for a little more about how dear Gill is, following my earlier post 545, which Greg has kindly copi..."

Thank you, Jean.

Dhanaraj just wrote me saying that he receivedthe news Gill is no longer PHISICALLY with us.
She'll be with us, with me, for ever and ever, as all those whom I've loved, who have loved me and books: my father, my mom, Alessandra ....

May she rest in peace. She will always be in our thoughts.

She is in our hearts forever. May she be at peace after her brave battle. I miss her so but she will never leave me.

Such sad news. Sending love to her family. She will never be forgotten

Thank you so much Laura.

So sorry to hear . Gill , Rest In Peace . We love you and will miss you .

Thank you Laura for letting us know .

Thanks Laura. Gill was simply brilliant. I admired her strength and her spirit of adventure. She had a tremendous input into this group, and as mods we found her invaluable and such a blessing. Rest in peace Gill, I will miss you xx

Vale, dear Gill. Have had a huge lump in my throat since I read the news. What a funny, smart, intuitive and brave woman she was; I will miss her greatly.

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?

Thank you for sharing the news, Laura. I will miss her greatly, but I will never forget her strong spirit in the face of such an illness.

So sorry to hear this news! RIP dear Gill.

Rest in peace, dear Gill! I will miss you.

Such sad news... I will miss Gill but can't wish that she was still struggling with her tumor. I am glad that I had the opportunity to know her.

Thanks, Laura. She will be missed by all of us. Chatting with her through the group was a gift. I don't want to be sad because she wouldn't want that.

So sad to hear this. Gill touched many of our lives and won't be forgotten.

So sad. I didn't know her for long but Gill seemed like such a nice person.
Thanks for telling us. My sincerest condolances to her family.

Leslie wrote: "Such sad news... I will miss Gill but can't wish that she was still struggling with her tumor. I am glad that I had the opportunity to know her."

I think that this is exactly what we all think Leslie.
May she now Rest in Peace, she definitly deserved it, and we know she'll always be with us; each time we pick up a book we'll unconsciously think - what would Gill think of it?

Nothing on e can say is adequate.

I miss Gill's insightful, kind and generous comments very much. So sad to hear this news.

Hugs, Tweedledum! I'm so glad we have this space to talk about Gill.
I was thinking of her today and missing her very much. I'm at peace that she is no longer suffering but miss her cheeriness every day.

Was so sad to see this news about Gill, but what a testament to a wild and precious life well lived...RIP ❤❤❤

I am so sad to see this, but she lived her life to the fullest. I didn't know her long, but she was welcoming and had kind and insightful comments here.

Distressed and disappointed to find this out about Gill (and so late) - I was wondering why her reading list hadn't changed - but since I haven't checked AAB for a while, didn't know, didn't realize that something may be this wrong.

I started reading fiction ferociously - and using netgalley - because of her. And when she sent me the friend request, I was soooooooooo ecstatic - it was like hitting the jackpot! - because she really was so genuine in her likes and dislikes and in the power of books, to make one think or move or general discussions on monthly reads or specific read-alongs.

Terrible news. The only comforting thought is that she lived long and well and fully, and was such a happy, optimistic, forward-looking person! May we all be so lucky. My condolences to her family and grandkids and to us, the AAB family here!

(Also comforting was to read updates about her in this thread and others - thanks, Greg and all).

And yes, thanks to all for the updates on her in the other group: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...