Book Review: zig-zagging
It has been a few months since I did a book review, and I forgot how I tend to get overly worked up . . . I want to make sure I do the book justice and convey my points well. While this book has the theme of grief, it is a much lighter read than my last review. I have never been overly excited by Ziggy and never knew much about his creator so was curious to read this book.
Zig-Zagging is a well-written narrative detailing the journey of life, love, and loss with humor throughout. Tom Wilson is the son of Ziggy creator and current illustrator of the cartoon. He openly discusses how he faced life (or failed to) when losing his beloved wife to cancer at an early age and the healing that has taken him to where he is today. The book follows Wilson’s journey of life from a boy who watched his father create Ziggy to being a single father. He openly discusses the process of grieving, raising two boys alone, and dating the “wrong” person. His story has the underlying message of trying to find balance in life . . . he often points out that knowing and doing are not the same, and while he is so caught up in life he neglects the one person who has always been there for him, Ziggy.
I think the message in the book is positive and inspirational . . . experiences of a person who has overcome a tragic situation. We all grieve in our own ways and at our own pace . . . it is a process that no one can truly understand until faced with having to deal with it. I do think a lot of what he said is on target with some of his conclusions especially when discussing his experiences with grief. One that really hit a chord with me was people wondering why he was not grieving when in reality he did not want to grieve. I really understood when he said, “grief seemed like an acceptance that loss was real and permanent.” I could not have said it better.
Wilson also discusses the challenges of a single father dating a woman without children and the guilt of being unfaithful to his late wife even though she was gone. As one who is a believer in signs, I was very interested in his thought about signs and how he would notice them when he really needed them. He found that they are not necessarily what they say but how they affect you at that moment. The image of something so trivial would trigger a memory of his late wife even on the cereal aisle at the grocery store.
If you enjoy Ziggy, memoirs, or reading how people overcome tragic events; it is a good book.
“The destination is always the heart of the journey through life . . . to find our path, sometimes we need to lose our way, to discover that we only know where we are going when we finally get there . . . my personal journey has not been an easy one but I’m living proof that some remarkably wonderful things can still remain with us even after the one we love most dies”
Zig-Zagging is a well-written narrative detailing the journey of life, love, and loss with humor throughout. Tom Wilson is the son of Ziggy creator and current illustrator of the cartoon. He openly discusses how he faced life (or failed to) when losing his beloved wife to cancer at an early age and the healing that has taken him to where he is today. The book follows Wilson’s journey of life from a boy who watched his father create Ziggy to being a single father. He openly discusses the process of grieving, raising two boys alone, and dating the “wrong” person. His story has the underlying message of trying to find balance in life . . . he often points out that knowing and doing are not the same, and while he is so caught up in life he neglects the one person who has always been there for him, Ziggy.
I think the message in the book is positive and inspirational . . . experiences of a person who has overcome a tragic situation. We all grieve in our own ways and at our own pace . . . it is a process that no one can truly understand until faced with having to deal with it. I do think a lot of what he said is on target with some of his conclusions especially when discussing his experiences with grief. One that really hit a chord with me was people wondering why he was not grieving when in reality he did not want to grieve. I really understood when he said, “grief seemed like an acceptance that loss was real and permanent.” I could not have said it better.
Wilson also discusses the challenges of a single father dating a woman without children and the guilt of being unfaithful to his late wife even though she was gone. As one who is a believer in signs, I was very interested in his thought about signs and how he would notice them when he really needed them. He found that they are not necessarily what they say but how they affect you at that moment. The image of something so trivial would trigger a memory of his late wife even on the cereal aisle at the grocery store.
If you enjoy Ziggy, memoirs, or reading how people overcome tragic events; it is a good book.
“The destination is always the heart of the journey through life . . . to find our path, sometimes we need to lose our way, to discover that we only know where we are going when we finally get there . . . my personal journey has not been an easy one but I’m living proof that some remarkably wonderful things can still remain with us even after the one we love most dies”
--Tom Wilson
Here's a new You Tube video of Tom Wilson drawing Ziggy on camera for the first time and talking about his book.
Here's a new You Tube video of Tom Wilson drawing Ziggy on camera for the first time and talking about his book.
Be sure to visit TLC Book Tours for other great books!
posted by Heidi at 3/16/2009 12:01:00 AM
3 Comments:
Excellent review, Heidi! Thanks so much for participating in the tour.
You said it so well. I, too, am reading this book for TLC. My tour date is the 24th and I fear all the good things will be said. lol Your review was so very well done that it makes me wonder why you don't post them more often.
Great review ~ I'm going to add this to my "to read" list.
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