A review by tearsofthetinman
Between Them: Remembering My Parents by Richard Ford
4.0
Remembering our parents is something we all probably do in the key stages of our life as sons and daughters, while they are alive and after they have passed.
Richard Ford's book is actually two books - the first written about his father is an exercise in remembering the past when RF was a young man and a families adjustment to his permanent absence through death. It is a record of his father's presence, and sometimes lack of presence, and observation and recollection of his parent's marriage.
The latter book is about his mother and their growing bond into adulthood and her journey into the next stage of her life after his father's death. Where the father is recalled with some fondness, RF's memory and shared history with his mother is of love; not overwhelming nor worn on the sleeve, but a love that provides a constant tiller and direction for both mother and son as they move through the stages of their lives.
As a middle aged man with elderly parents , the line "Death starts a long time ahead of when it arrives. Even in deaths very self there is life that has to be lived out" rings loud and true, for all generations.
A book worthy of your time by those who are at a stage to reflect and to contemplate how it may mirror their own lives, even in minor ways.
Richard Ford's book is actually two books - the first written about his father is an exercise in remembering the past when RF was a young man and a families adjustment to his permanent absence through death. It is a record of his father's presence, and sometimes lack of presence, and observation and recollection of his parent's marriage.
The latter book is about his mother and their growing bond into adulthood and her journey into the next stage of her life after his father's death. Where the father is recalled with some fondness, RF's memory and shared history with his mother is of love; not overwhelming nor worn on the sleeve, but a love that provides a constant tiller and direction for both mother and son as they move through the stages of their lives.
As a middle aged man with elderly parents , the line "Death starts a long time ahead of when it arrives. Even in deaths very self there is life that has to be lived out" rings loud and true, for all generations.
A book worthy of your time by those who are at a stage to reflect and to contemplate how it may mirror their own lives, even in minor ways.