Disappearing Windmills: A Waist High View of the World's Hot Spots Book

"A person's disappearance can come in many different forms. You can become a face in the crowd, the stranger nobody knows, or an adventurer away from home," writes Kate Christie Zee, M.D., Ph.D. Diagnosed in the prime of her life with multiple sclerosis, Kate's life as an emergency physician abruptly vanished. Able to walk only minimally, she soon realized that to pursue a quality life, she would have to use a wheelchair, but refused to see disability as a barrier to having a good, healthy, and adventurous life. Disappearing Windmills: A Waist-High View of the World's Hot Spots is Zee's account of her journeys around the world and her coming of age. The book is more than a traveler's detailed journal, it's a tribute to the human abililty to overcome obstacles in life that seem impassable at first, but, in reality, only require the right attitude to overcome. Intertwined with Kate's international adventure stories are discussions of social issues that face all of us who go through a major change in life. For Kate this was adaptation to disabiity and to the use of a wheelchair, but the issues also arise among those who are approaching old age, who have lost a spouse, and even to those who just move to a strange city. Such issues include perceptions of the disappearance of one's old identity, worries about fitting in, fear of new things, feelings of vulnerability, and struggles for self- empowerment. Dr. Zee reveals that these social concerns are like Don Quixote's Windmills which can be seen as monsters to be fiercely fought but, as she reveals her own solutions, are shown to be the ordinary windmills they really are and soon disappear as a matter of concern.Read More