ames_101's review
5.0
This simultaneously heart warming and heartbreaking story of a woman and her relationship with her mother. The strength of their bond in the first section in their ability to really talk. How when she called her mother it opened a magic doorway to be heard, even in the minutiae of life. Then the struggle that ensues with memory, depression, burnout, and childbirth all the while recognizing who she built her mother up to be may not be entirely true. However there’s so much love. A truly beautiful memoir!
marisatn's review
5.0
I loved this memoir. The author’s writing is excellent and it’s fun to see her change throughout the story as she learns new information about her past. The author zoomed with us for our book club and she was so kind and funny. Highly recommend.
nogush's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to audiobook, narrated by the author, and finished it in two days because I didn’t want to stop listening. A beautiful memoir about mothers and daughters that is relatable to me on so many levels.
sperkkio's review
4.0
This book challenges what we tell ourselves about and how we perceive our parents. I really appreciated the insights of the author as she thoughtfully processed being a daughter and caretaker of her mother as they walked through the challenges and nuances of Alzheimer’s.
cherylcheng00's review
4.0
This is the legacy of myths. They set an impossible standard. They are alluring for precisely the same reason they are dangerous: They refuse to disclose details. Yet those details, so pesky to myths, are where life occurs. The details tell the true story. The myth is the story as it wishes it could be.
This is why I want this time with her. I want to get to know her while I still can. I want to separate the myth from reality, to reconcile the mom I always imagined with the more complicated person I'm just starting to know.
Love blinds the caregiver to danger. To acknowledge danger is to acknowledge the possibility of loss.
Alzheimer's is devastating because it annihilates one's story. It vacuums it up. Even the name feels greedy to me. What gets me is the apostrophe, the possessive little hook. It drags your loved one away from you. My mom no longer belongs to me. She belongs to the illness.
Some words fit right away. Others take time. What matters is that we hear the dissonance, pay attention to what makes us uncomfortable. No matter the evidence before our eyes. The story we tell ourselves always wins. That is the power of stories, but also their danger.
What does it mean for a woman to choose herself? It means having the audacity to see her own worth. For so long, I couldn't do this. I created illusions.
This is why I want this time with her. I want to get to know her while I still can. I want to separate the myth from reality, to reconcile the mom I always imagined with the more complicated person I'm just starting to know.
Love blinds the caregiver to danger. To acknowledge danger is to acknowledge the possibility of loss.
Alzheimer's is devastating because it annihilates one's story. It vacuums it up. Even the name feels greedy to me. What gets me is the apostrophe, the possessive little hook. It drags your loved one away from you. My mom no longer belongs to me. She belongs to the illness.
Some words fit right away. Others take time. What matters is that we hear the dissonance, pay attention to what makes us uncomfortable. No matter the evidence before our eyes. The story we tell ourselves always wins. That is the power of stories, but also their danger.
What does it mean for a woman to choose herself? It means having the audacity to see her own worth. For so long, I couldn't do this. I created illusions.
basicbsguide's review against another edition
5.0
Surpassed my expectations and they were high.
Insightful, empowering and relatable I loved this memoir exploring motherhood. I’m left with much to contemplate and think it would make for an excellent book club book.
Insightful, empowering and relatable I loved this memoir exploring motherhood. I’m left with much to contemplate and think it would make for an excellent book club book.