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carolpk 's review for:
The End of Your Life Book Club
by Will Schwalbe
My sincere thanks to Alfred A. Knopf Publishing and Anne Kingman & Michael Kindness of Books on the Nightstand for the advanced reading copy of this book which will be published October 2012.
There is so much I'd like to tell you about The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe but this is one of those books you need t read yourself and take away what you will.
The title describes what we're about to read aptly as it is Will Schwalbe's story of the bound he and his mother, Mary Ann Schwalbe shared through books and reading during her treatment for pancreatic cancer. From the very first sentence "We were nuts about the mocha in the waiting room at Memorial Sloane Kettering's outpatient care center" to its very last words, this book is a loving tribute to Will's mother and perhaps if not totally healing at least to work through his grief.
The sentence stating that May Ann's cancer is treatable, not curable, lets us know at the start what the end result will be. Somewhere early on, Will admits that he knows the outcome but there will be some time before death comes. He often says what he wants "is Mom not to be dying" and I agree. Mary Ann is a remarkable woman who did remarkable things. She was a hard working member of International Rescue Committee and she often journeyed to Kabul and all over Afghanistan. One of her life's dreams was to see a library built in Kabul.
One touching moment for me was when Will meant to tell his mother "I love you" but instead told her how proud of her he was. This was something I had never thought to tell my own parents. As children and later as an adult, my father and mother often said these words to me. How I wish I had said those same words to them.
There is so much I'd like to tell you about The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe but this is one of those books you need t read yourself and take away what you will.
The title describes what we're about to read aptly as it is Will Schwalbe's story of the bound he and his mother, Mary Ann Schwalbe shared through books and reading during her treatment for pancreatic cancer. From the very first sentence "We were nuts about the mocha in the waiting room at Memorial Sloane Kettering's outpatient care center" to its very last words, this book is a loving tribute to Will's mother and perhaps if not totally healing at least to work through his grief.
The sentence stating that May Ann's cancer is treatable, not curable, lets us know at the start what the end result will be. Somewhere early on, Will admits that he knows the outcome but there will be some time before death comes. He often says what he wants "is Mom not to be dying" and I agree. Mary Ann is a remarkable woman who did remarkable things. She was a hard working member of International Rescue Committee and she often journeyed to Kabul and all over Afghanistan. One of her life's dreams was to see a library built in Kabul.
One touching moment for me was when Will meant to tell his mother "I love you" but instead told her how proud of her he was. This was something I had never thought to tell my own parents. As children and later as an adult, my father and mother often said these words to me. How I wish I had said those same words to them.