Fathers Aren't Supposed to Die: Five Brothers Reunite to Say Good-Bye

This book may be small but it is a memoir packed with information. It was a very good read on many levels..family relationships and death and dying; those two are the main themes. The author writes with a hint of mystery and I liked that touch to the memoir.

I bought this book shortly after the death of my own father, and the subsequent reawakening of my friendship with my sister. I found the emotions and the passions in this book to resonate very deeply within my being - helping me to heal, since I learned that my feelings are common, valid and shared.

This is a poignant, compelling story that those of us who are baby-boomers will soon experience ourselves, if we haven't already. Mr. Shine bears all - his personal pain, frustrations and annoyances - dealing with the inevitable death of his father and realizing the experience is bringing him close to his brothers once again and the past they share. He indicts the medical community that, he felt, treated his father as a temporary occupant of a hospital bed. Like impatient FAA air traffic controllers, nurses and doctors were unwilling to be inconvenienced by adult children who were reluctant to let the scheduled departure take off on time. A quick and fulfilling read.

I've read Shine since he wrote for The Miami Herald's Tropic Magazine. He's an undiscovered master. This book takes his readers on a painful but rewarding journey--the death of his father. It's entirely worth your time, even at double the price.