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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
A bit rambling and very personal--a touching tribute to a life loving both books and people. Reading "End of Your Life" was rich treat: casual and deep, informative and wondering, spiritual in traditional and non-traditional ways.
Sent me off to read many recommended books (and skip others), and made me miss my own mother, who read prodigiously and whose literary tastes I often disagreed with. What I wouldn't give to have a discussion about a book--any book--with her right now. Will Schwalbe--thanks.
Sent me off to read many recommended books (and skip others), and made me miss my own mother, who read prodigiously and whose literary tastes I often disagreed with. What I wouldn't give to have a discussion about a book--any book--with her right now. Will Schwalbe--thanks.
I would not have finished this book if it wasn’t for leading a book club for work. I like the concept of this book a lot—discussing all the books you read with someone before they die. But Will and Mary Anne are so insufferable. So pretentious. So extremely privileged and that comes across so poorly. Like, did the author HEAR what he was saying?! Cancer is so hard to read about, and writing about it must be even more difficult so I do respect that. A lot of details were just SO unnecessary and cringe (why did Will say he hated the sweater?! Just don’t say that, it doesn’t do anything to the plot and makes you look like a fool!). Overall, I can definitely see why some would love this book but it did not hit right for me at all.
More a 3.5 than a 3. Interesting for me because of general book nerdery, but also a desire to better understand how people approach and process death of a loved one. While the book generally focuses on the experience of the author following his mother's pancreatic cancer diagnosis, it also describes his mother's life - a clearly amazing person who made an immense contribution to individuals, communities, and to this world more broadly.
Well, this book was great. And now I have like fifty more I need to read.
Normally I avoid books like this; I detested the Last Lecture. Unlike most maudlin books about death, this is a beautiful book about the love of books.
As a person who has always drawn on lyrics and books to communicate deeper thoughts, I loved the idea of this book. I wasn't disappointed. Booklist included at the end had me adding titles to my current reads and thinking about my book "bucket list" and what books I'd want to share and with whom.
This is a beautifully written tribute to the author's mother and also to the value of books and reading.
I loved this book, both for the writing and for the fabulous list of books to read that it gave me. This is the book responsible for giving me Wallace Stegner.
An fast read that gave me many more titles to add to my "to read" list. His mom sounds like a remarkable woman.
Once the excitement had worn off over receiving my first ever ARC (thank you, Ann & Michael!!), I took a closer look at what the book was actually about and realised that I was going to be in for a very emotional ride. As I've been reading it over the last month, I realised that I will not give this book away but hold on to it for good. Not only is it a real treasure trove full of excellent book recommendations, but also because I will want to reread it again for two main reasons; finding inspiration for life and finding an outlet for grief.
My mother died in 2005, aged 57, of ovarian cancer. Just over 2 years ago, my mother-in-law, aged 67, died of the same disease. Both women were avid readers and up until a few weeks before their deaths both would send me books, ask what I was reading, want to discuss something they'd just read and even send recommendations for toddler books (our older son was 18 months old at my mum's funeral). Also, in their cases (being "stiff upper lip" Northern European women of a "certain generation"), books and stories were used to convey personal messages within the family, not unlike Will Schwalbe did with his mother.
Death and dying are still taboo subjects in our society and culture, and often it was easier for us to "discuss" the impending doom and finality of the disease by ways of bringing up a storyline in a book, or a movie. I share Will Schwalbe's grief in so many ways, including the loss of our first true reading companions.
Will Schwalbe's brave descriptions of accompanying his beloved mother to many doctor's appointments and chemo sessions resonates strongly with me - unless someone has been in the same situation, smelled those hospital rooms and corridors, overanalysed the oncologist's every facial expression and been through the last weeks somewhere between wishing she could hang in there forever yet wanting her to be swiftly released from it all, it is difficult to comprehend just how wearing the whole process is.
Mary Ann(e) Schwalbe was an incredibly inspiring woman. After learning so much about her life, her many projects, political and charitable involvements, I can almost not believe that I hadn't heard of her before reading her son's book. She accomplished so many amazing things during her lifetime and whilst it's a truly corny thing to say, Mary Anne Schwalbe was one of these rare specimens of humans who actually succeeded in making the world a better place by doing "their bit" - except Mary Anne did more than a bit. Her relentless will to do good, her incessant thirst for learning about life and people, her endless empathy and kindness to those in need are not only inspiring but also a bit of an eye-opener about the self-indulgent, complacent life I lead in comparison. Looking back at Mary Anne Schwalbe's choices, decisions and achievements in her life, I can say that this book has inspired me to try and be a better person (and mother - and with any luck, I will enjoy a similarly close relationship with my sons when they are adults); well, I have a long way to go.
My mother died in 2005, aged 57, of ovarian cancer. Just over 2 years ago, my mother-in-law, aged 67, died of the same disease. Both women were avid readers and up until a few weeks before their deaths both would send me books, ask what I was reading, want to discuss something they'd just read and even send recommendations for toddler books (our older son was 18 months old at my mum's funeral). Also, in their cases (being "stiff upper lip" Northern European women of a "certain generation"), books and stories were used to convey personal messages within the family, not unlike Will Schwalbe did with his mother.
Death and dying are still taboo subjects in our society and culture, and often it was easier for us to "discuss" the impending doom and finality of the disease by ways of bringing up a storyline in a book, or a movie. I share Will Schwalbe's grief in so many ways, including the loss of our first true reading companions.
Will Schwalbe's brave descriptions of accompanying his beloved mother to many doctor's appointments and chemo sessions resonates strongly with me - unless someone has been in the same situation, smelled those hospital rooms and corridors, overanalysed the oncologist's every facial expression and been through the last weeks somewhere between wishing she could hang in there forever yet wanting her to be swiftly released from it all, it is difficult to comprehend just how wearing the whole process is.
Mary Ann(e) Schwalbe was an incredibly inspiring woman. After learning so much about her life, her many projects, political and charitable involvements, I can almost not believe that I hadn't heard of her before reading her son's book. She accomplished so many amazing things during her lifetime and whilst it's a truly corny thing to say, Mary Anne Schwalbe was one of these rare specimens of humans who actually succeeded in making the world a better place by doing "their bit" - except Mary Anne did more than a bit. Her relentless will to do good, her incessant thirst for learning about life and people, her endless empathy and kindness to those in need are not only inspiring but also a bit of an eye-opener about the self-indulgent, complacent life I lead in comparison. Looking back at Mary Anne Schwalbe's choices, decisions and achievements in her life, I can say that this book has inspired me to try and be a better person (and mother - and with any luck, I will enjoy a similarly close relationship with my sons when they are adults); well, I have a long way to go.