Helpful Books
by Brendan Smith
Weirs Times Editor
As we get older, focusing more on keeping ourselves healthy is important.
It isn’t always easy to do as there are so many unhealthy opportunities that surround us every day and most of them smell and taste so good.
Of course, there is always exercise that should be done and usually isn’t because there are always more important things to be done.
Educating people on being healthy isn’t easy. No one really wants to listen until it’s too late (I plead guilty to this myself).
Trying to educate adults on healthier lifestyles is hard since people nowadays have shorter attention spans (“Hmmm…this stuff about keeping my heart healthy is interesting, but it’s time to check Facebook”) Also, no one really wants to slog through a booklet written by medical professionals. In the end, these books only accomplish one true goal, putting people to sleep; which is crucial for a healthy lifestyle.
I thought that writing about health issues could be more effective if it was done in a simpler and easier to read format – Adult Children’s Books. After all, there are plenty of so-called adults out there who won’t read unless it is simplified.
They like lots of pictures too.
For example, The book “James and The Giant Peach” was a big hit so I thought “James and The Giant Prostate” would be a good Adult Children’s Book for men who need to be better aware of one thing that can cause a lot of trouble.
In the story, James, a middle-class investment banker who works around the clock wakes up one morning to find his prostate, giant and enlarged, sitting at his kitchen table drinking coffee. At first James is horrified until he realizes that his giant prostate is there to help him understand.
The only thing a little disturbing about this book might be the illustrations, but with the right artist’s touch, I think it could be handled tastefully.
Some Doctor Seuss books could also be used to tell some good adult-sized tales about how to keep healthy
“Green Eggs and Ham and Foodborne Illnesses” would be a great book on teaching people the dangers of eating undercooked and raw food. Unfortunately, it would be necessary to illustrate it with a few, tastefully done, pictures of people retching in the bathroom. It would be necessary to truly portray the message.
Another great Dr. Seuss book would be “Oh, The Places You Will Go, If You’d Only Get Off Your Butt and Move A Little Bit” which would emphasize the benefits of some exercise every day.
“Horton Hears A Who, What & Where?” which will go over the possibilities of hearing loss as you age. Unfortunately, there will be no audio version of this book.
Another famous children’s book that could be adapted to the adult health market is “Alice’s Adventures At The Supermarket” where Alice has to navigate the absurd world of content labels on hundreds of food items. The chapter on sodium levels alone will keep even the most distracted reader engaged for hours.
There could be a whole series of books called “The Hearty Boys Mysteries” where each book solves another complicated mystery of the heart. Women would benefit from these books as well but the “The Nancy Drew Mysteries of Menopause” are really only for them (though men might want to have a look to help understand the whole hot an cold thing).
Another great idea would be “Charlotte’s World Wide Web” where the story’s heroine, Charlotte, helps older folks understand navigating the Internet. There would be at least one chapter dedicated to helping folks understand the dangers of searching WebMD where every little ache or pain could be either be nothing at all or the end.
As mentioned earlier, the proper amount of sleep is essential for good health so “Goodnight Moon, It’s Nine O’Clock” would make for an important read. (There might also be a summertime version called “Goodnight Sun, It’s Nine O’Clock” to help you realize that you’re not alone in feeling the need to hit the hay while it’s still light out.)
Another great series of books might start with “Harry Potter & The Out of Pocket Maximum” to help understand the sometimes mysterious world of health insurance. Another book in the series might be “Harry Potter & The Unexpected Bill.”
There could be some books on keeping safe like “Where The Wild Things Are & How To Avoid Them” as well as books on developing a more positive outlook on getting older such as “The Little Aging & Increasingly Arthritic Engine That Could (Except On Rainy Days)”.
I’m hoping to get to work on some of these books tomorrow, or the next day, depending on how I feel.
