Annual Report 2013

Here is my "Annual Report" - a seasonal e-greeting that went into cyberspace, aimed at several hundred friends and colleagues scattered about the world -

Annual Report 2013

 Dear friends,

The year got off to a good start in January when Oxford University Press published Global Public Health; Ecological Foundations, by Frank White, Lorann Stallones and John Last. This began as a 3^rd edition of my monograph, Public Health and Human Ecology. I recruited Frank White and Loran Stallones as co-authors because they had fulsomely praised my 2^nd edition and asked me to get on with a 3^rd edition. I’d fallen behind the cutting edge of public health science and needed support by up-to-date friends. Then my beloved Wendy fell ill with motor neuron disease (ALS) and after an illness lasting just over a year, she died. I was in no emotional or intellectual shape to write even part of a book, so I left most of it except a few ideas to Frank and Lorann.  It was almost my final flutter as a medical writer. ‘Almost’ because 2013 is the 50^th anniversary of my most important original article, The Iceberg; "Completing the clinical picture" in General Practice, Lancet 1963, 2:28-31 and it is republished this year (with commentaries) in the International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 42, No 6, Dec 2013, pp 1613-1615.  I'll probably post some of this on my blog or on Facebook eventually.

 But I can’t quit writing cold turkey: I’ve been writing memoirs, and I’ve written more this year. I’ve recycled bits on my blog (http://lastswords.blogspot.com). If the universe unfolds as it should, in 2014 I’ll publish my entire memoirs as an e-book, with my writing reinforced by ideas I’ve picked up in workshops, discussion groups and a creative writing course.  Stay tuned for more on this, or follow my blog.

 What else happened to the Last family in 2013? There is still a raw wound where Janet Wendy used to be, but the scar tissue over that wound is less inflamed. I keep her memory alive and every day I speak to her, to one or more of the photos of her that are scattered throughout my apartment. Rebecca and Richard feed me once or twice every week, David phones nearly every day, and Jonathan drives me when we eat at R & R’s home.  I am blessed to have such caring children.  I hear pretty often from my grandchildren too. Christina is progressing with gender reassignment, has now become Charles.  Peter has completed his environmental science degree and like his partner Sylvie, he has a steady job. John is spending his third undergraduate year at Bogazici University in Istanbul, progressing with Arabic, learning Turkish, pressing on with religious studies early modern history, dipping into journalism. He aims to become an expert on the complex problems of the Middle East, and judging by posts on his blog (http://johnlast.wordpress.com) he is making good progress towards that goal. I and his partner Emily hope he doesn’t get caught in the crossfire of any of the conflicts or localized unrest in the region.

As for me, I shuffle where once I walked briskly, can’t open jars as easily as I did when younger, but my mind still seems to work and I can usually find the right words to express what I want to say as I go about the task of compiling my memoirs.

Peace, Love and seasonal greetings to all!     John