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Love Was Also What Motivated Me
Dust in the Wind is a deeply personal memoir sharing the story of your wife, Katherine, whose life was forever altered by a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis and the challenges you faced together battling poverty, prejudice, and abandonment. Why was it important for you to share your story?
The story I was trying to share came from a lot of pain. Katherine, and I have always tried to be kind even when we were looked down upon. It would be great if I ever get a chance to write about our story more differently. The book was disappointing to me. Writing the song “Dust in the Wind” was what the memoir needed to focus on. People need to hear the truth about the origins of the song and learn about the real person behind it. You see everybody took for granted Katherine from her doctor cousins to her entire family. Light should shine on people of disabilities because many like Katherine have so much to offer. If you gave her the chance she could lead a country. Love was also what motivated me to write the story.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
Hope. MS. A famous song was created. The world is very cruel. Perseverance. Love. Respect. Our sons. Harmony.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
Worried about offending people in our family. The band Kansas would sue me. The truth is what it is. Since my mothers passing no one on her side of the family ever cared about how badly she treated my wife. She always lied about how much she cared. My curiosity leaves me often wondering and needing to confront those who are alive as to why? Katherine always supported her doctor cousins by visiting them but they never did the same.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?
There are many sides to the story. This story needed to be told because many people have told me “Dust in the wind” is their favorite song. Songs originate from experiences in life. This song comes from a talented person from Canada who never was given much of a chance to make her mark. She needs to be heard, this is what I wanted for her. A voice, a protector.
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Dust in the Wind
Michael Triska’s Dust in the Wind is a deeply personal memoir that recounts a life lived on the edge of hardship, heartbreak, and resilience. At its core, it’s the story of Katherine, the author’s wife, a talented and vibrant woman whose life was forever altered by a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis at the age of eighteen. Triska doesn’t just chart her medical decline; he details their love, their marriage, and their lifelong battle against poverty, prejudice, and abandonment. What unfolds is not just a chronicle of illness, but a testament to love, loyalty, and surviving in a world that too often looks away.
I was moved by the honesty in Triska’s writing. He doesn’t pretend to be perfect. He owns his fears, failures, and frustrations. That vulnerability gave the story its power. His pain seeps through the pages, but so does his love for Katherine. The depiction of Katherine’s strength, her passion for music, and her indomitable spirit even in the face of such suffering is inspiring and heartbreaking all at once. But more than anything, what got me was the anger. The unfairness. Watching family vanish when things got hard. Seeing a woman slowly robbed of her identity while society either mocked, ignored, or pitied her. It made me furious, and it made me care.
The writing is raw, and sometimes repetitive, but it pulls no punches. There’s no sugar-coating, no elegant prose, no grand metaphors. Triska tells it like it is. Some might find the tone intense or the sadness unrelenting. But that’s also what makes the book work. It doesn’t try to romanticize suffering. It tells the truth: about chronic illness, about poverty, about caregiving, and about the thin line between holding it together and falling apart.
I’d recommend Dust in the Wind to anyone who has ever been a caregiver, battled illness, or just needed to believe that love can survive even the darkest nights. It’s not a feel-good story, but it’s a real one. And sometimes, that’s even more important. Bring tissues because this one will leave a mark.
Pages: 70 | ASI N: B0DRDM49V6
LITERARY TITAN 