Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
As an oncology RN, I found this book uniquely touching. Although I wish I would've read every single book that the author discusses so I could better relate, I fell in love with the bits of wisdom given by Mary Ann throughout the pages. I'd give every one of my patients her courage, hope and stamina if I could.
I lost track of the titles mentioned (which is probably for the best). Also, I've been reading about death and family a lot lately...I wonder why.
This book is beautiful. I don't know if my sentimentality towards it is increased because of the recent loss of my Father in law but I think I'd love it regardless. Normally I get nervous reading books about familial relationships where one dies but I'm so glad I read this. It reminded me of the common bonds I have with the people I love and how important it is to embrace those.
The narrator was actually pretty good. I thought I hated him for the first hour but I ended up really liking his voice and thought it added quite a bit. At the end of the book, I felt like I knew Will and MaryAnne. I mourned the loss of her too as she seemed like such a beautiful person.
The narrator was actually pretty good. I thought I hated him for the first hour but I ended up really liking his voice and thought it added quite a bit. At the end of the book, I felt like I knew Will and MaryAnne. I mourned the loss of her too as she seemed like such a beautiful person.
Read for Booktopia VT 2013!
I found this extremely moving, and loved the way that Schwalbe framed this memoir about his last time with his mother in terms of books they were reading at the time. I was surprised at the number of books I had read, and also at the ones I hadn't heard of- books have definitely been added to my TBR as a result of reading this.
I found this extremely moving, and loved the way that Schwalbe framed this memoir about his last time with his mother in terms of books they were reading at the time. I was surprised at the number of books I had read, and also at the ones I hadn't heard of- books have definitely been added to my TBR as a result of reading this.
I want to be Mary Anne Schwalbe. What an amazing human being! She was truly ahead of her time in so many ways: traveled the world; raised three remarkable children; worked as the first female director of admissions for Harvard and Radcliff; participated actively in refugee humanitarian efforts which included visits to the worst war-torn places imaginable without much thought (it seemed) to her personal safety; and passionately loved to read. However, I found her most admirable quality to be that she was genuinely kind to everyone who crossed her path throughout her lifetime.
The premise of this book is that Mary Anne is diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, so she and her son, Will, unwittingly from a two-person book club with meetings held during Mary Ann's chemo sessions.
There are two quotes from this book that I still remember, and probably will for a long time.
"I often seek electronic books, but they never come to me. They may make me feel, but I can't feel them. The are all soul with no flesh, no texture, no weight. They can get in your head but can't whack you upside it." Will Schwalbe, Author
----And yes, it is a bit ironic that I read this novel in eBook format.
"Of course you could do more - you can always do more, and you should do more - but still, the important thing is to do what you can, whatever you can. You just do your best, and that's all you can do." Mary Ann Schwalbe
The premise of this book is that Mary Anne is diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, so she and her son, Will, unwittingly from a two-person book club with meetings held during Mary Ann's chemo sessions.
There are two quotes from this book that I still remember, and probably will for a long time.
"I often seek electronic books, but they never come to me. They may make me feel, but I can't feel them. The are all soul with no flesh, no texture, no weight. They can get in your head but can't whack you upside it." Will Schwalbe, Author
----And yes, it is a bit ironic that I read this novel in eBook format.
"Of course you could do more - you can always do more, and you should do more - but still, the important thing is to do what you can, whatever you can. You just do your best, and that's all you can do." Mary Ann Schwalbe
I listened to the audio version of this book. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read the physical book. The narrator's attempt at doing accents distracted from the story and the voice choice for the mother at times made her appear sanctimonious
There was so great insight into how to live out your life happily when receiving a terminal diagnoses. I was able to bolster my TBR list with a lot of great new books that I'd either forgotten about or had never heard of.
There was so great insight into how to live out your life happily when receiving a terminal diagnoses. I was able to bolster my TBR list with a lot of great new books that I'd either forgotten about or had never heard of.
I really enjoyed the relaxed story telling and the relationship of Will Schwalbe and his mother. I loved her outlook on life and found the story quite inspiring.
Real life tears (which are infrequent, somehow)—it took me a minute to adjust to reading a book about someone's mom... yet I feel like she's someone I now know. (And there's nothing better than learning about what people are reading!)
I’d like to preface this by saying that I liked this book, I really did. But, I can’t understand all this effusive praise. It was a good read but not great. The book was at times quite tedious. It had moments where it was clumsy and disjointed which stopped the flow in a jarring way. It could have used a good editor.
As a book about reading it was not overly satisfying. The conversations about books were often cursory or very shallow – although there is a chapter devoted to Didion’s “Year of Magical Thinking” the book is discussed for less than 2 pages and most of that is devoted to a long quote. Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture” receives only a fleeting mention, come on now! There are very few books that the mother and son talked about that I wanted to rush out and read or to strike-off my “to read” list. I just didn’t care. As a memoir I also found it lacking. I often found myself a bit bewildered by the people and relationships in the book – the father is mentioned so rarely as to be virtually non-existent, the son comes out to his mother about his sexuality in a letter and she responds by return post! How odd. The author so idolizes his mother that she quickly becomes a one dimensional figure even though she’s had an extraordinary life and is a very accomplished woman. To be honest, I wanted to know a lot more about her and much less about him.
That being said, what I truly liked about the book are the insights that it provides around how people with cancer are treated and the chemo culture that exists in hospitals. I wish I had read it when my mother was alive. I spent six months accompanying my mom to her chemo appointments and other hospital visits and I realized, too late, that oncologists and other medical practitioners are reluctant to tell you the truth. I think it would have helped me be a stronger advocate for my mom and it would have altered some of the decisions we made. The other great part about this book is that it talks frankly about the awkwardness surrounding the end of life - the conversations that need to be had and the things that need to get done. For that alone I would recommend it especially for those people who are going through this trying and difficult time.
[b:The End of Your Life Book Club|13414676|The End of Your Life Book Club|Will Schwalbe|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1333576665s/13414676.jpg|18713903]
As a book about reading it was not overly satisfying. The conversations about books were often cursory or very shallow – although there is a chapter devoted to Didion’s “Year of Magical Thinking” the book is discussed for less than 2 pages and most of that is devoted to a long quote. Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture” receives only a fleeting mention, come on now! There are very few books that the mother and son talked about that I wanted to rush out and read or to strike-off my “to read” list. I just didn’t care. As a memoir I also found it lacking. I often found myself a bit bewildered by the people and relationships in the book – the father is mentioned so rarely as to be virtually non-existent, the son comes out to his mother about his sexuality in a letter and she responds by return post! How odd. The author so idolizes his mother that she quickly becomes a one dimensional figure even though she’s had an extraordinary life and is a very accomplished woman. To be honest, I wanted to know a lot more about her and much less about him.
That being said, what I truly liked about the book are the insights that it provides around how people with cancer are treated and the chemo culture that exists in hospitals. I wish I had read it when my mother was alive. I spent six months accompanying my mom to her chemo appointments and other hospital visits and I realized, too late, that oncologists and other medical practitioners are reluctant to tell you the truth. I think it would have helped me be a stronger advocate for my mom and it would have altered some of the decisions we made. The other great part about this book is that it talks frankly about the awkwardness surrounding the end of life - the conversations that need to be had and the things that need to get done. For that alone I would recommend it especially for those people who are going through this trying and difficult time.
[b:The End of Your Life Book Club|13414676|The End of Your Life Book Club|Will Schwalbe|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1333576665s/13414676.jpg|18713903]