Aunt Harri Walks the Line

If you have reached the golden years, have an aging parent, or hope to grow old yourself one day, this book is for you.A reviewer has said: Aunt Harri Walks the Line packs a punch that's inspiring rather than jolting. It will help uplift the spirit in this age of anxiety and depression. The book is a romp—mellow, ironic, funny, sometimes weepy. But never boring.It's about Aunt Harri, nee Harriet, a righteous, crusty matron with a threatening cane who makes her own false teeth and has been known to settle an issue with "e;my fists."e;It's also about Bert, a big-boned 63-year-old who gets so mad at Ontario's government he flees to Alberta. And it's about family, friendships, feelings, stick-togetherness with a kind of sixth sense that folks share and that manifests itself "e;even on the hazy edge of consciousness."e; It's also about getting old, gracefully or not.Wiseman, a retired Fergus, Ontario writer, can be ironic and humorous, much like the late short story writer O Henry. And like O Henry, his stories often end with a twist that can surprise or please. Who else would describe a common alley cat as "e;two kilograms of finely-tuned muscle, claw and fang."e; Or have Aunt Harri "e;bellow like an army sergeant"e; at a doctor she calls an "e;insensitive young quack."e;The hero, of course, is Aunt Harri, variously described as of indeter-minate age, or in her 90s, and who sings a mezzo soprano and rails at injustices real or perceived.Old folk who don't stay in shape feel her wrath."e;They sit on their butts all summer, then do the same all winter in Florida or Arizona."e; When people become too solicitous, she reminds them sharply. "e;I may be elderly but my brain works as well as it did 50 years ago."e;Aunt Harri makes the medicine to ease today's woes easier to swallow. Try some. —Joe Dupuis, retired journalist