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moulvalerie's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
The book was long, seems preachy and didn't really feel a connection to the characters
missyjohnson's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely book, Mary Anne Schwalbe was a remarkable person and I am so glad that I got to know her in this book. If only to aspire to have as much grace and love for others as she demonstrated. I will also put many of the books listed and read in Will and Mary Anne's book club on my "to read" book list. The Stegner will most certainly be there as will John O'Hara. I am also going to seek out "Daily Strength for Daily Needs". I already have a couple of daily devotionals that I enjoy but seeing God's timing for Mary Anne in this book was wonderful. I also want to see what Susan Halpern says in "the Etiquette of Illness". Thank you for sharing, Will.
simplymegy's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.5
I get it. Having lost a parent, I wanted to immortalise my memories and remember all the good things my dad did, too.
Will Schwalbe clearly worships his mother. I would too, if my mom made it her life’s work to volunteer in refugee camps, build an Afghan library, or be brave enough to volunteer again after getting shot. Yes, Mary Ann Schwalbe was a superhero of a woman. The next mother Teresa- one who is so selfless, Will thinks if she were to be rescued from a burning building, her first words to the fireman will be, “have you heard of the Afghan library?”
Despite all these accomplishments, we never really get to know Mary Ann as a mother, spouse, or friend. Will shares that when he was six, he had a favourite toy. One day, he couldn’t find the toy, and Mary Ann told him the toy died. It turns out she gave his toy to a refugee. For some reason this didn’t quite sit well with me. Will said he has “an overabundance of toys”, and yet his mother didn’t even realise she had given away his favourite toy.
That’s also the other thing about this book. You realise how much privilege their family has. At one point, Will shares their whole family of 5 were able to go on a sabbatical for two years. All of them were educated from Ivy league schools and hold numerous frequent flyer miles. Mary Ann herself probably holds the world record for being the longest survivor of pancreatic cancer- she had the best treatment. It was really hard to sympathise with them whenever things like these get casually mentioned and/or implied.
I feel bad for rating this as it is, but it really didn’t resonate with me. I guess this was everything to do with my expectations and the way this was written. I was thinking it would be somewhat similar to Paul Kalanithi’s memoir. Instead, this book felt like a long winded obituary with a mix of book reviews. Will wrote a weekly blog for his mum, and I kind of wish he had chosen to share those, so we had more insight into the kind of person Mary Ann was when she wasn’t saving the world.
The whole book was so painfully slow, but I did look forward to the books that were mentioned in their book club. After all, this is what grabbed me in the first place. It’s a shame that Mary Ann was only a fan of fiction that had morbid themes, so I didn’t get much out of their recommendations. At least we both agreed that Khaled Al-Hosseini and Stieg Larsson wrote phenomenal novels.
zoefruitcake's review against another edition
4.0
This was the final book I read to complete the 2018 Read Harder Challenge. Will and his ailing saintly mother have discussed books all their lives but while she is dying of cancer they spend more time than ever sharing their love of reading.
Having lost my mother two and a half years ago following her third battle against cancer I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to cope with reading this book. At the very end he writes that one of the phrases she kept uttering was "it is what it is" - something my mother said also which at the time gave me no comfort at all as I wanted to rage against the terrible disease robbing me of my beloved mother.
They had two years together talking about books and I envy them both the time and the shared interest. My mother had only 4 months and despite her deep love of reading she hardly ever had the time to read, always saying she would read when she retired. Sadly she only had a few months of retirement before falling ill.
This is a far more upbeat book that you might think and it gives a wonderful insight into the life of a woman who achieved so much for people in need all over the world but who also cherished her family dearly.
Having lost my mother two and a half years ago following her third battle against cancer I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to cope with reading this book. At the very end he writes that one of the phrases she kept uttering was "it is what it is" - something my mother said also which at the time gave me no comfort at all as I wanted to rage against the terrible disease robbing me of my beloved mother.
They had two years together talking about books and I envy them both the time and the shared interest. My mother had only 4 months and despite her deep love of reading she hardly ever had the time to read, always saying she would read when she retired. Sadly she only had a few months of retirement before falling ill.
This is a far more upbeat book that you might think and it gives a wonderful insight into the life of a woman who achieved so much for people in need all over the world but who also cherished her family dearly.
fbroom's review against another edition
4.0
This book is about the joy of reading books. Will Schwalbe's mother, Mary Anne Schwalbe, is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and together with his mom they start reading book forming an informal book club. At every chemo appointment they discuss the books they’re reading and they suggest new books to each other. Will also talks about his mother’s work as a humanitarian traveling around the world helping refugees and the impact she had on so many lives.
I read many reviews where people complained about how controlling the mom sounded, how Will never really talked in depth about his family and his relationship with his mom, or even how privileged they were to have all of that medical care but this book is really mainly focused on the book club they formed together.
I read many reviews where people complained about how controlling the mom sounded, how Will never really talked in depth about his family and his relationship with his mom, or even how privileged they were to have all of that medical care but this book is really mainly focused on the book club they formed together.
jgraydee's review
4.0
Anyone who enjoys reading will enjoy this book -- many authors and genres are discussed. It is a memoir of publisher Will Schwalbe, whose mother died in 2009 after a long fight against advanced pancreatic cancer. Will and his mother, Mary Anne, used their book discussions to pass the time of cancer treatments/appointments, but more importantly to discuss their differing views on life in general.
pam2375's review
4.0
This was a memoir. Will Schwalbe wrote his story about his experience with his mother. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
He and his mother had always loved to read, so it seemed natural that they would begin reading and discussing the same books. They started their book discussions during her chemo treatments. While this book is not filled with indepth book discussions it does have many snipets of those conversations, which tends to be just perfect. Those snipet of conversations opens the door to his childhood memories of his mother and family.
In between the chemo treatment/book club meetings we hear about a mother, grandmother, wife, sister, friend, humanitarian in a most delightful way. Mary Anne Schwalbe was a woman that loved and was loved.
I liked that Mr. Schwalbe started this book by saying that he did not intend to write a book. He did not take notes and this is a book of his best recollection of conversations and milestones of his life with his mother.
It is a fantastic story that I would recommend to anyone.
He and his mother had always loved to read, so it seemed natural that they would begin reading and discussing the same books. They started their book discussions during her chemo treatments. While this book is not filled with indepth book discussions it does have many snipets of those conversations, which tends to be just perfect. Those snipet of conversations opens the door to his childhood memories of his mother and family.
In between the chemo treatment/book club meetings we hear about a mother, grandmother, wife, sister, friend, humanitarian in a most delightful way. Mary Anne Schwalbe was a woman that loved and was loved.
I liked that Mr. Schwalbe started this book by saying that he did not intend to write a book. He did not take notes and this is a book of his best recollection of conversations and milestones of his life with his mother.
It is a fantastic story that I would recommend to anyone.