Right of Thirst

A clear departure from Cobain to the imaginary world of Dr. Charles Anderson, a 50-something cardiologist whose life we enter at the beginning of a fork in the road, the death of his wife, in the novel Right of Thirst by Frank Huyler.  Anderson has assisted in her demise as she no longer wants to endure the downward struggle with her illness.  Anderson and his wife have one son, Eric, who becomes a major focus of Anderson’s constant reflections as he chooses to take a temporary respite to the mountains in an Islamic country to assist refugees from earthquake relief.  Anderson hears about this opportunity when he attends a seminar by a philanthropist traveling the States in the hopes of raising monies for the effort.  For Anderson, he sees this as a way to give back and find meaning in his life that he appears not to have had with his wife or son.  We learn about Anderson’s meager upbringing and struggles on the “other side of the tracks” and his success as a doctor which serves as a basis for his total over indulgences for his son, which he regrets during his journey.  Anderson’s trip is more eye-opening when he learns that the “earthquake relief” is a sham as the military leadership of this fictitious land uses monies to continue a war against their enemy instead of helping the poor refugees.  Anderson has a fling with one of the young volunteers (which serves as a freeing from the guilt of his relationship with his deceased wife).  Anderson also does get to give back to a few of the poor helpless families in the country during his journey and then is able to use an extortion plan of sorts to hold the military leader to give back based on information he could leak to the Western media.  The final scene has Anderson return from his trip somewhat of a changed man, a man of feeling rather than solely a thinking man.  I like this transformational trip of the “rags to riches” doctor who forgets about “the feeling of life” as he exists in the “riches stage.”  A recently published work that is worth reading.  Yes, the author is a doc too!