This book is written from the viewpoint of a son who is watching his mother battle end stage pancreatic cancer. What could have been a completely excruciating time in both of their lives ended up giving them an opportunity to talk about all of the issues that come up through the frame of literature.
If you are looking for an awesome reading list see the appendix of this novel. My goodreads "to read" shelf is overflowing with the recommendations put forth in this book.
One of the lovely things about the way that Schwalbe writes is that he can give an overview of the books that his mother and him read during the two years of her illness without completely giving away the book itself. Poignant excerpts from the novels are highlighted and would intrigue any reader to explore the books they are reading further in their own library.
MaryAnne Schwalbe is such an inspiration. She handles her illness with such grace, not letting her treatments get in the way with her living, constantly thinking of others when they try to put the focus on her. Her life, career and parenting play out just like I would love for mine to. Someday I hope to be able to read the same things with my children and let that open up a new world view to all of us. I love reading alongside my 12 year old stepson. Our conversations are littered with references to what we are reading and have read and I hope that never dies!
Read this book. You won't regret it.
Goodreads Rating: 5 stars
On Deck(nook): "Damned" by Chuck Palahniuk with a brief stop at "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson to soothe a bad day.
Audio Progress: Finishing "C is for Corpse" by Sue Grafton
I loved this book sooo much and recommend it to anyone who loves to read. I'm so glad you gave it too me!
ReplyDeleteI've been recommending this book to everyone since reading last week!
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