Memoir Monday...

 

Amy Bloom began to notice changes in her husband, Brian: He retired early from a new job he loved; he withdrew from close friendships; he talked mostly about the past. Suddenly, it seemed there was a glass wall between them, and their long walks and talks stopped. Their world was altered forever when an MRI confirmed what they could no longer ignore: Brian had Alzheimer’s disease.

Forced to confront the truth of the diagnosis and its impact on the future he had envisioned, Brian was determined to die on his feet, not live on his knees. Supporting each other in their last journey together, Brian and Amy made the unimaginably difficult and painful decision to go to Dignitas, an organization based in Switzerland that empowers a person to end their own life with dignity and peace.

In this heartbreaking and surprising memoir, Bloom sheds light on a part of life we so often shy away from discussing—its ending.

I've read fiction by Amy Bloom over the years, but this is not fiction. And no matter how many books you've written, or how famous (or not famous) you are, Alzheimer's doesn't care. It will invade and devastate. This is what Amy Bloom and her husband must deal with in her memoir, In Love. 

"In Love is an unforgettable portrait of a beautiful marriage, and a boundary-defying love."

This book has gotten so much praise, high recommendations and it received a Star Review from Kirkus. It seems it all stems from the wonderful writing of Amy Bloom and the way she writes about the subject, not as just a disease, but of a love story that the disease just can't crush. Published by Randomhouse this past March. On my book list...