In Age Reborn, by Grace Sustained: One Woman's Journey Through Aging and Chronic Illness.

In her introduction, Sister Thelma-Anne McLeod states that her purpose in writing this memoir is to offer an honest and thoughtful account of illness as a way to experience spiritual growth. Indeed, the triune parts of this reflection on living with Parkinson’s disease deal with mind, body, and spirit. The book often reads more as a helpful guide than a memoir; nonetheless, as in every good memoir, the personal reveals the universal. McLeod weaves together three aspects of her life—living with Parkinson’s disease, spiritual growth in adversity, and entering her elder years—that share in common “the stripping of life” issues we all must face at some point along the human journey.

McLeod, an Anglican nun in her late 70s, deals openly with the emotions that accompany the symptoms of diminishment, underscores the importance of grieving over loss, and emphasizes the importance of supportive community. Yet what is most striking about her story is the consideration she gives to the cognitive and physical particularities of Parkinson’s disease. At once candid and reflective, McLeod in her own grace-filled voice infuses insight: “By its very nature, a dualism has a tendency to take good versus evil as its model. It assumes that the person is the mind, and the body merely an instrument for carrying out what the mind ordains. In Parkinson’s, when the slow and unresponsive body doesn’t leap to fulfill the mind’s every whim—and be quick about it—the lively and agile mind becomes impatient … It dawned on me that much of my fatigue comes from pushing myself instead of listening to my body.”

In Age Reborn, By Grace Sustained offers spiritual reflections about life, aging, and illness, and is a useful resource for anyone wanting to know more about Parkinson’s disease.