Curveball: The year I lost My Grip, by Jordan Sonnenblick

I just finished Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip, by Jordan Sonnenblick. This book is about facing problems with identity, injury and memory loss, and it's bout finding a new way to be. Peter throws out his arm playing baseball, and is told he can never play again. He has problems finding out who he is if he can't play baseball. While Peter struggles with his disability, he finds out that his Grandfather has alzheimers and is slowly losing him memory.

Peter's Grandfather makes Peter promise to keep his problem a sercret. Peter does keep it a secret but feels very conflicted about it. Peter takes on the responsibility is of helping his Grandfather, which is very difficult for a teenager struggling with his own issues.

In chapter 8, Peter gets a call from his Grandpa, who tells Peter that he slipped in his bathroom, and needs help. Peter knows he should tell his parents, but his Grandpa disagrees. Carrying heavy camera equipment, Peter runs to his Grandpa's house as fast as he can. When he gets there, Peter helps his Grandpa to the couch. They argue about telling Peter's parents what happened. Peter feels conflicted but agrees to help his Grandfather do what he wants.

Later in the book Peter is talking to his Grandpa, and sees the depth of his grandpa's alzheimers. His grandfather, who was a professional photographer during his life, doesn't recognize his own digital camera. He acts like his mind is in another era, wondering where to put the film in his digital camera. This startles Peter, because his knows how knowledgable his grandfather is about cameras.

Peter comes up with an idea. He starts recording his grandfather and asking him to tell the story of how he and Peter's Grandma met. He decides that before his grandfather's mind goes away completely, he will record the stories he knows his Grandfather will want to remember.

Helping his grandpa through his health problem is therapeutic for Peter. With Peter's injured arm making him question who he is in life, helping his grandfather gives him a purpose. It's reassuring for Peter if he feels sad that he lost his ability to pitch, and feels he then won't be himself 'ever again.' His grandfather, even though he is losing his memory, can still be his old self, and remember the good parts of his life with the help of Peter documenting it. Helping his Grandfather was the only way for Peter to know that he has both sides of himself: the Pitcher and the photographer, and can also be anything else he chooses to be.