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All the Dancing Birds
Lillie Claire Glidden is unraveling. She knows she’s in trouble when she finds her wallet and keys deep in the refrigerator, smelling of lettuce and forgetfulness. And not even her favorite California red wine can dull the pain of the dreaded Alzheimer’s. As language starts to fail her and words disappear, Lillie Claire is determined to find a way to pass on the lessons she learned as a child on a Southern porch. Surrounded by family and caregivers, she fights to hold on to the details of her life, and to recognize the woman in the mirror for as long as possible.Told from Lillie Claire’s perspective, All the Dancing Birds offers beautiful and terrifying insight into the secret mind of those touched—and ultimately changed—by the mystery of Alzheimer’s disease.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 31, 2012
134 people are currently reading
986 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
November 5, 2013
I would have sworn the author must have had intimate experience with this disease. But Auburn shares that she did research with families who opened their homes to her. Bless them. I could not read it all at once. I had to walk away and come back. It was too real and too heartbreaking. My mom died of dementia and being her caretaker in her last year was the most challenging and rewarding role since being a mom. The letters in the book are beautifully and wholeheartedly written and make a striking backdrop for the ravages of Alzheimer's. Thank you Auburn for this glimpse and for filling it with love and beauty especially the ending which resonated deeply.
I was pushing my mom in her wheelchair in the park on a challenging blue sky day and to change her focus I said (out of the blue)I'm thinking of writing a book about our journey together...would you like to write it with me? Oh my, she lit up and my mom was back! 'We could do that?' she asked. Yes mom we could! I'd like to tell other daughters who have moms with dementia what we've learned and how to create possibilities. Mom, what would you tell the people who might read our story? She didn't think long, but she struggled with the words: "Tell them we're still in here.We're still us. I'm still me...but I can't always tell you that."
All The Dancing Birds has given me wings to begin to write our story.
I was pushing my mom in her wheelchair in the park on a challenging blue sky day and to change her focus I said (out of the blue)I'm thinking of writing a book about our journey together...would you like to write it with me? Oh my, she lit up and my mom was back! 'We could do that?' she asked. Yes mom we could! I'd like to tell other daughters who have moms with dementia what we've learned and how to create possibilities. Mom, what would you tell the people who might read our story? She didn't think long, but she struggled with the words: "Tell them we're still in here.We're still us. I'm still me...but I can't always tell you that."
All The Dancing Birds has given me wings to begin to write our story.
June 14, 2015
EMOTIONALLY EVOCATIVE
Try to imagine how it feels to lose words every day, then to lose knowledge of how to use ordinary household objects, and finally, to lose recognition of friends and family, all the while retaining a sense of self. The frustration, embarrassment, and agony of an Alzheimer's patient, family, friends, and care-givers is monumental, and the author's descriptive expertise makes this a never-to-be-forgotten novel—well-paced, tender, loving, emotional.
Throughout the entire book, the reader feels as if s/he was the protagonist as well as all the ancillary characters, and comes to understand the many and varied Herculean tasks necessary to care for a victim of this insidious affliction.
The piece de resistance is the unique manner the mother chose to fill in the blanks of her children's background, as well as her own and her parents, leaving them a legacy of information and ineffable love.
Beautifully written, I highly recommend this emotionally evocative novel by Auburn McCanta.
Phyllis Eisenstadt
Try to imagine how it feels to lose words every day, then to lose knowledge of how to use ordinary household objects, and finally, to lose recognition of friends and family, all the while retaining a sense of self. The frustration, embarrassment, and agony of an Alzheimer's patient, family, friends, and care-givers is monumental, and the author's descriptive expertise makes this a never-to-be-forgotten novel—well-paced, tender, loving, emotional.
Throughout the entire book, the reader feels as if s/he was the protagonist as well as all the ancillary characters, and comes to understand the many and varied Herculean tasks necessary to care for a victim of this insidious affliction.
The piece de resistance is the unique manner the mother chose to fill in the blanks of her children's background, as well as her own and her parents, leaving them a legacy of information and ineffable love.
Beautifully written, I highly recommend this emotionally evocative novel by Auburn McCanta.
Phyllis Eisenstadt
May 8, 2013
At first I wasn’t sure about this book, and not because the writing isn’t competent (it is more than competent; it is completely luminous), or that I didn’t care about the narrator who has Alzheimer’s (are you kidding? I wanted her for my mom).
It’s a silly reason, actually, but here it is: I couldn’t see how just one voice/narrator, and a grand total of three somewhat peripheral characters (as it turns out, because we don’t spend much time with them) would be enough to sustain a whole book (and me, who loves boatloads of characters and plot arcs intersecting plot arcs).
Well, what do I know? I was not only sustained, I was transported, and by 2am (when I should’ve been sleeping in prep for an early morning call), I was changed.
No spoilers here. Suffice to say that Auburn McCarta (an award-winning writer, and this book also picked up a recent award) is amazingly gifted. She moved me. She made me grateful for her work. She made heartbreaking moments exquisitely felt, but she also made me laugh, and she gave me understanding, too (those who know me know that my husband was also a victim of dementia). She made me want to buy a hundred copies of her book and give them all away, so everybody can feel and understand what this story evokes, that’s how important I think McCarta and All the Dancing Birds are.
I hope this novel gets the promotion it needs and so richly deserves. I hope it’s put in every library, and out there on every blog, and that it’s not constantly compared to Lisa Genova’s Still Alice (also about a woman with Alzheimer’s—and Genova promoted Still Alice like nobody’s business), because we don’t need to compare the two. Yes, they share a focus, but they are different stories, very differently constructed. I highly recommend the beautifully wrought All the Dancing Birds—it’s a story that will stay with me for a long, long time.
It’s a silly reason, actually, but here it is: I couldn’t see how just one voice/narrator, and a grand total of three somewhat peripheral characters (as it turns out, because we don’t spend much time with them) would be enough to sustain a whole book (and me, who loves boatloads of characters and plot arcs intersecting plot arcs).
Well, what do I know? I was not only sustained, I was transported, and by 2am (when I should’ve been sleeping in prep for an early morning call), I was changed.
No spoilers here. Suffice to say that Auburn McCarta (an award-winning writer, and this book also picked up a recent award) is amazingly gifted. She moved me. She made me grateful for her work. She made heartbreaking moments exquisitely felt, but she also made me laugh, and she gave me understanding, too (those who know me know that my husband was also a victim of dementia). She made me want to buy a hundred copies of her book and give them all away, so everybody can feel and understand what this story evokes, that’s how important I think McCarta and All the Dancing Birds are.
I hope this novel gets the promotion it needs and so richly deserves. I hope it’s put in every library, and out there on every blog, and that it’s not constantly compared to Lisa Genova’s Still Alice (also about a woman with Alzheimer’s—and Genova promoted Still Alice like nobody’s business), because we don’t need to compare the two. Yes, they share a focus, but they are different stories, very differently constructed. I highly recommend the beautifully wrought All the Dancing Birds—it’s a story that will stay with me for a long, long time.
November 27, 2012
All The Dancing Birds is a beautiful story about something that scares the hell out of most of us.
Lillie Claire Glidden, a charming and lovable middle-age widow in Northern California, is slowly losing her mind and she knows it. Endless Post-it notes serve as a makeshift memory and briefly prop up her familiar routine, but these quickly fail her too. She fights the all-powerful, unseen menace of Alzheimer’s as, moment by moment; she slips from the world.
Juxtaposed to her quietly disintegrating life, Lillie recalls her childhood in the mountain town of Lenoir, North Carolina. By way of letters written to her adult children, Lillie takes the reader through intimate reflections of an idyllic youth, the love and wisdom of a blind grandmother, the honest strength of her grandfather and marriage to the love of her life. These are the underpinnings of who she became and everything she is losing.
All the Dancing Birds is a most intimate novel. Sometimes haunting, sometimes tender, Auburn McCanta’s prose touches deeply and carries the reader on an unforgettable journey to an absolutely mesmerizing end.
Lillie Claire Glidden, a charming and lovable middle-age widow in Northern California, is slowly losing her mind and she knows it. Endless Post-it notes serve as a makeshift memory and briefly prop up her familiar routine, but these quickly fail her too. She fights the all-powerful, unseen menace of Alzheimer’s as, moment by moment; she slips from the world.
Juxtaposed to her quietly disintegrating life, Lillie recalls her childhood in the mountain town of Lenoir, North Carolina. By way of letters written to her adult children, Lillie takes the reader through intimate reflections of an idyllic youth, the love and wisdom of a blind grandmother, the honest strength of her grandfather and marriage to the love of her life. These are the underpinnings of who she became and everything she is losing.
All the Dancing Birds is a most intimate novel. Sometimes haunting, sometimes tender, Auburn McCanta’s prose touches deeply and carries the reader on an unforgettable journey to an absolutely mesmerizing end.
January 27, 2019
I love this book! It is a book that you start reading and do not want to put down. Days later, the story still resonates with me. I felt that I was with the main characters journey through Alzheimer's, learned to understand this disease further, both emotionally and physically and appreciated the relationship and inspiring way with the character and her children. I laughed, I cried and I was touched to my core throughout. I especially appreciate the authors style of writing and rich descriptions and that she donates part of her proceeds to Alzheimer's gives a sense of where the her heart is with this story. Wow!
February 16, 2014
Absolutely one of the finest books I have read in some time. The words were stunning in their beauty. The subject was a difficult one (Alzheimer's); however, the power of the writing was such that the author made me feel as though I was actually experiencing Lillie Claire's pain and confusion in my own mind and body as she watched her words, thoughts, and mind slowly slip away to a place from which there was no return.
January 14, 2015
I was captured by the writing in this book; so beautifully written! I've never read another book about Alzheimer's victims that captures the likely thoughts and feelings of those suffering from this horrible disease better than this book does. I can't recommend it highly enough. It will touch your heart deeply, and I know it will linger for a long time after (especially important for those of us who are blessed to be caretakers of these special people).
October 3, 2012
one of the most moving books i've ever read. cried all the way through the last several chapters; couldn't stop - reading or crying.
January 24, 2020
Extremely sad and moving story about a horrifying, but real disease. I found comfort in this story as my mother had dementia. I recognised many symptoms my mother experienced. Not an easy read, but I definitely feel like I know what my mother endured more now. For myself, every time I forget something, a word, a name, or some item of shopping I know I need, I'm scared. This is it, it might be my own first steps into a truely terrifying demise.
July 1, 2020
Sad book. But I wanted to understand more about this terrible disease called Dementia. My father was diagnosed with this just before he died. I’m so thankful that he didn’t go through all of this and he always knew who I was when I visited.
May 21, 2015
I had to let this book "Marinate" a bit before I could put into words my feelings. Of the books I've read this year, this is certainly is the one I would have most hated to have missed and yet it was alternately terrifying and reassuring. And it's a book I struggled to read. None of us past a certain age really WANT to know more about what it is like to have Alzheimer's disease
Other than one or two absolute "bit players" there are just four characters in this revealing novel -- a grown son and daughter, their mother and the woman they have hired to stay with her in her home.
While the story is certainly by definition a novel -- It has to be, it's told in first person, a woman deteriorating mentally could not record feelings and continue the story. The author, however, has followed the old adage and has written what she knows. In addition to being a volunteer working with Alzheimer's disease, she interviewed many families and caregivers and patients to gain the insights she shares through the book.
It was reassuring to know that I wasn't experiencing some of the problems described, until I turned the page and found the my new friend forgetting some of the things I forget. Once past the first the first 20 or 25%, the differences became more pronounced. The ways with which she shared her life and the lives of her parents with her children was tender and touching, and in turn gave her comfort and reassurance.
Read this book. It shouldn't be missed.
Other than one or two absolute "bit players" there are just four characters in this revealing novel -- a grown son and daughter, their mother and the woman they have hired to stay with her in her home.
While the story is certainly by definition a novel -- It has to be, it's told in first person, a woman deteriorating mentally could not record feelings and continue the story. The author, however, has followed the old adage and has written what she knows. In addition to being a volunteer working with Alzheimer's disease, she interviewed many families and caregivers and patients to gain the insights she shares through the book.
It was reassuring to know that I wasn't experiencing some of the problems described, until I turned the page and found the my new friend forgetting some of the things I forget. Once past the first the first 20 or 25%, the differences became more pronounced. The ways with which she shared her life and the lives of her parents with her children was tender and touching, and in turn gave her comfort and reassurance.
Read this book. It shouldn't be missed.
July 29, 2015
This book is hard to read. I'm not one to cry easily over books. There have been some serious tearjerkers that haven't gotten to me at all (I'll cop to it, I didn't even get choked up while reading The Fault In Our Stars. Yeah, I'm heartless.) But this book... The last two chapters, well, my throat and eyes still hurt from doing that whole "I feel the crying coming but I'm not gonna do it" thing.
It's beautiful, everything in here is beautiful, but damn if it's not the most heartbreaking book I have ever read.
I can't give it more than three stars although I feel like I want to, because I did find myself skimming a lot of the letters throughout the book and then having to force myself to go back and read them. I think they were supposed to be meandering and long winded to prove a point about Lillie Claire and her illness but I did find them tough to sit through.
So yeah. Tough read. But if you know someone with this disease or you just want to understand it better... Here you are.
It's beautiful, everything in here is beautiful, but damn if it's not the most heartbreaking book I have ever read.
I can't give it more than three stars although I feel like I want to, because I did find myself skimming a lot of the letters throughout the book and then having to force myself to go back and read them. I think they were supposed to be meandering and long winded to prove a point about Lillie Claire and her illness but I did find them tough to sit through.
So yeah. Tough read. But if you know someone with this disease or you just want to understand it better... Here you are.
July 5, 2014
What is it like to have Alzheimer's? How would anyone know since those who suffer with the disease are unable to describe the world they live in?
Yet culling from the experiences of people who have had a family member with Alzheimer's, Auburn McCanta has written a novel that reads like a memoir of someone who is passing through the stages, from the earliest moments of forgetfulness until the final days of helplessness. The narrator shares her shame at the symptoms, her awkward moments, and the love she feels for her caretaker Jewell. Through a series of letters and poems she manages to write before she loses her words, she leaves a legacy of memories for her children of her parents, her husband, and the family they raised.
Beautifully written and highly recommended!
Yet culling from the experiences of people who have had a family member with Alzheimer's, Auburn McCanta has written a novel that reads like a memoir of someone who is passing through the stages, from the earliest moments of forgetfulness until the final days of helplessness. The narrator shares her shame at the symptoms, her awkward moments, and the love she feels for her caretaker Jewell. Through a series of letters and poems she manages to write before she loses her words, she leaves a legacy of memories for her children of her parents, her husband, and the family they raised.
Beautifully written and highly recommended!
November 11, 2014
This is a beautifully written book about a horrible, ruthless disease. Like others, I laughed and cried for Lillie Claire and for those I have known for whom this disease was a reality. I would not have discovered this book without Kindle Unlimited. I love it enough to buy a hard copy to read and reread, adding lots of highlights as I go through it. I do hope the author will write another book in the future.
April 27, 2020
Do not be afraid of this book.
Honestly, the subject of Alzheimer’s at once breaks my heart and terrifies me. I downloaded this book and finally gathered my courage to read it. I’m so glad I did. It’s absolutely beautiful. It is heartbreaking and sometimes it’s downright hard to read, but the perspective and justice and honor given to the person behind the disease progression was captivating. Read it, digest it, absorb it. Do not be afraid.
Honestly, the subject of Alzheimer’s at once breaks my heart and terrifies me. I downloaded this book and finally gathered my courage to read it. I’m so glad I did. It’s absolutely beautiful. It is heartbreaking and sometimes it’s downright hard to read, but the perspective and justice and honor given to the person behind the disease progression was captivating. Read it, digest it, absorb it. Do not be afraid.
April 1, 2015
One of the most beautiful stories I've ever read. The prose is so, so lovely---the subject is Alzheimer's though and it's frightening at the same time. I don't think I can bear to read it again, but I'll be forever thankful that I read it once.
June 16, 2015
I was mesmerized to read this book about Alzheimer's Disease told in the first person. This disease is terrible and I couldn't put this book down. Auburn McCanta does such a wonderful job of narrating Lillie Claire as she slowing descends into the illness of Alzheimer's.
February 18, 2017
A silencing read and heart wrenching account of a disease that continues to haunt many who suffer and those who suffer with them. I would highly recommend this book to anyone newly diagnosed as well as family and caregivers of someone dancing through life with it.
December 17, 2013
One of the most moving books I've read.
July 15, 2014
Heartbreakingly lovely.
June 15, 2015
Wonderful read told from the perspective on an Alzheimer patient. For anyone who has had a family member go through this terrible disease it is a unique perspective.
May 16, 2018
If you’ve ever loved someone with dementia... or, like me, you fear this fate, you should pick up this book. It will help with the understanding of the devastating disease. It will become more personal to you in the reading of these words.
This novel will shrivel your face. It’ll turn your heart upside down, shaking out any fragments of empathy and compassion it harbors. It will melt you and leave you shaking your head at the beauty and horror that lies within it’s pages.
This novel will shrivel your face. It’ll turn your heart upside down, shaking out any fragments of empathy and compassion it harbors. It will melt you and leave you shaking your head at the beauty and horror that lies within it’s pages.
October 13, 2019
A very insightful read written from the perspective from a younger woman suffering from alzheimers disease. I worked in the health care field for ten years providing direct care. This story gave me a painful insight in what some of my patients were going through. I think everyone should read this book. especially health care workers it will help provide patience, and compassion during some of the difficulties in caring for a patient who suffers from alzheimers disease.
March 3, 2018
This is going to be a difficult book to get over. Auburn McCanta's writing is so exquisite and I found myself truly immersed in her words. She is an amazing artist that is able to take a devastating and tragic diagnosis and write about in a way that puts the reader within it but does so in a delicate and tender way. I don't know how else to describe it - best book I've had the pleasure reading in a long, long time.
January 2, 2019
Stunningly written book about woman falling deeply into Alzheimer's disease. Five stars.
June 24, 2020
Beautifully written.
November 13, 2025
If you're caregiving for someone struggling with memory loss, this book is for you.
June 27, 2016
I'd say 3.5 stars. The writing was beautiful, but the story didn't have much drive. It was scary to get inside the head of someone with Alzheimer's, but I need more than that.
Full Response:
Alzheimer’s is a disease that many people are familiar with, but even if you have a loved one who has been diagnosed, it is hard to truly be aware of the affects. All the Dancing Birds by Auburn McCanta is one of few novels that allows us to slip into the mind of someone suffering from Alzheimer’s. Seen from the outside, Alzheimer’s seems like a simple deterioration of the brain—loss of memory and place, episodes of heightened emotion. But is isn’t until you’ve experienced the disease yourself that you’re aware of the real sides affects.
For Lillie, the symptoms of her Alzheimer’s started off simple. She couldn’t find her keys—they had been left in the fridge—drawing a blank while talking mid-sentence. But then the more important memories started to slip. One day when her son is visiting Lillie asks Bryan how his wife is. A simple enough question, but Bryan was now divorced.
In All the Dancing Birds we’re able to see Lillie’s slow but frightening descent. She herself is battling with her new diagnosis while her own daughter Allison refuses to come to terms with the fact that her mom will get better. She determined to think of everything as just small hiccups—she’s just off today.
Told in first person point of view, we’re able to see Lillie as she suffers. When people think of someone with Alzheimer’s, they think of someone who has just…lost it. One on really stops to understand the torment that Alzheimer’s patients are put through day in and day out. The story being told in first person allows us access to Lillie’s thoughts as she get lost in an airport. It’s the usual lost of forgetting which way is to the correct terminal—she forgot everything: how she got there, which direction she came from, the fact that she was waiting to board a plane. And worst part of it all is that you can feel the correct answer just within your reach, it’s like Lillie knew that she had to rush back to the terminal, but that information was just out of her grasp. So she left the airport entirely. Even the process of completing sentences can be difficult. Once again, the word Lillie needs to complete the sentence is there—she can feel it-but it’s just out of reach. Lillie is able to show us not only what she forgets, but how much this forgetting is torturing her
Throughout the novel there are bits and pieces of small italic paragraphs. They are often told in a sort of “out of body” style in poetic script. It is obvious that the author, McCanta, was trying to do two things with this technique. The first was to showcase Lillie’s love for poetry that she often expresses throughout the novel. But these poetic paragraphs are also there to really put Lillie’s “episodes” into perspective. When Lillie is having a fit—whether it be manic, seizes, or just forgetting something serious—McCanta puts these moments in italics to show that Lillie is no longer in control. The story can’t be told in first person because she isn’t even aware of what exactly is going on.
And although Lillie is losing herself every day, she wrote letters to her children when she was first diagnosed. As the story progresses she reads back the letters, remaindering herself of who she really is, or once was. Though she loses the ability to read and write as the disease moves on, the letters were something permanent that Alzheimer’s couldn’t take away.
Finally, the novel ends when Lillie passes away, coming to the final stage of the disease. She is put to rest, no longer being held up in a nursing home, crying about the murderer that lives in the elevator, tormented by the fact that no one is listening to her. The novel is closed with an epilogue, leaving Bryan and Allison discovering the box full of letters that their mother had written for them.
Full Response:
Alzheimer’s is a disease that many people are familiar with, but even if you have a loved one who has been diagnosed, it is hard to truly be aware of the affects. All the Dancing Birds by Auburn McCanta is one of few novels that allows us to slip into the mind of someone suffering from Alzheimer’s. Seen from the outside, Alzheimer’s seems like a simple deterioration of the brain—loss of memory and place, episodes of heightened emotion. But is isn’t until you’ve experienced the disease yourself that you’re aware of the real sides affects.
For Lillie, the symptoms of her Alzheimer’s started off simple. She couldn’t find her keys—they had been left in the fridge—drawing a blank while talking mid-sentence. But then the more important memories started to slip. One day when her son is visiting Lillie asks Bryan how his wife is. A simple enough question, but Bryan was now divorced.
In All the Dancing Birds we’re able to see Lillie’s slow but frightening descent. She herself is battling with her new diagnosis while her own daughter Allison refuses to come to terms with the fact that her mom will get better. She determined to think of everything as just small hiccups—she’s just off today.
Told in first person point of view, we’re able to see Lillie as she suffers. When people think of someone with Alzheimer’s, they think of someone who has just…lost it. One on really stops to understand the torment that Alzheimer’s patients are put through day in and day out. The story being told in first person allows us access to Lillie’s thoughts as she get lost in an airport. It’s the usual lost of forgetting which way is to the correct terminal—she forgot everything: how she got there, which direction she came from, the fact that she was waiting to board a plane. And worst part of it all is that you can feel the correct answer just within your reach, it’s like Lillie knew that she had to rush back to the terminal, but that information was just out of her grasp. So she left the airport entirely. Even the process of completing sentences can be difficult. Once again, the word Lillie needs to complete the sentence is there—she can feel it-but it’s just out of reach. Lillie is able to show us not only what she forgets, but how much this forgetting is torturing her
Throughout the novel there are bits and pieces of small italic paragraphs. They are often told in a sort of “out of body” style in poetic script. It is obvious that the author, McCanta, was trying to do two things with this technique. The first was to showcase Lillie’s love for poetry that she often expresses throughout the novel. But these poetic paragraphs are also there to really put Lillie’s “episodes” into perspective. When Lillie is having a fit—whether it be manic, seizes, or just forgetting something serious—McCanta puts these moments in italics to show that Lillie is no longer in control. The story can’t be told in first person because she isn’t even aware of what exactly is going on.
And although Lillie is losing herself every day, she wrote letters to her children when she was first diagnosed. As the story progresses she reads back the letters, remaindering herself of who she really is, or once was. Though she loses the ability to read and write as the disease moves on, the letters were something permanent that Alzheimer’s couldn’t take away.
Finally, the novel ends when Lillie passes away, coming to the final stage of the disease. She is put to rest, no longer being held up in a nursing home, crying about the murderer that lives in the elevator, tormented by the fact that no one is listening to her. The novel is closed with an epilogue, leaving Bryan and Allison discovering the box full of letters that their mother had written for them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2014
While I did enjoy All the Dancing Birds, I felt like it wasn't as compelling as it could have been. It felt like it was really light on the story. Like there could have been more story. It was good, but not as great as other similar books I have read.
The story is told from Lillie Claire's point of view. It starts off on the day she realizes there is something not quite right with her mind. She forgets things, sometimes cannot think of words, or make her mouth say what she wants to say. It is quite scary and she tries to hide it as long as she can.
Her children eventually notice and her son takes her to the doctors. Her son is great through everything, trying to help her out as best he can and really being there for her. Her daughter on the other hand acts like a spoiled little brat for a good part of the book. She acts like her mom has some kind of control over this and is just being this way to annoy her. Her mom gets confused at the airport on the way to Hawaii with her daughter and ends up in a questioning room. They miss their flight and the daughter is just incredibly angry with her mom for that. How could she do that to her? It was just...she holds onto that for a long time and it is just like do you not realize that Alzheimer's is not something she can really control? I think if she could she would. I was glad when the daughter finally started being nice to her mom again, but I never liked the daughter. She was always a little too self absorbed for me.
It is really kind of scary reading how Lillie Claire progresses. My main issue however is that it is hard to tell how much time has passed. How quickly has this disease progressed? How quickly did it get to the point that she needs someone with her all the time? I never really knew if it was one day or one year between chapters. There also seemed to be a lot of time that is just skipped over. I felt like if it would have shown the progression more gradually, showed more of the daily workings of Lillie Claire, it would have been a more powerful book. Because so much time seemed to have elapsed between the chapters I didn't really get as engaged as I could have. I did almost cry at the end of the book though just because it is really sad. It makes me think of the people I have lost and it is just hard to read.
The one part of the book I didn't really like were the letter to her kids. I really just skimmed them. I am not sure why exactly I didn't like them, but they kind of bored me. I didn't really care so much about them, but I could see where her children would love to read them once she was gone.
Overall a good book, but I just felt if it would have been deeper, more detailed in the progression of the disease, I would have enjoyed it more.
Also posted to Jen in Bookland
The story is told from Lillie Claire's point of view. It starts off on the day she realizes there is something not quite right with her mind. She forgets things, sometimes cannot think of words, or make her mouth say what she wants to say. It is quite scary and she tries to hide it as long as she can.
Her children eventually notice and her son takes her to the doctors. Her son is great through everything, trying to help her out as best he can and really being there for her. Her daughter on the other hand acts like a spoiled little brat for a good part of the book. She acts like her mom has some kind of control over this and is just being this way to annoy her. Her mom gets confused at the airport on the way to Hawaii with her daughter and ends up in a questioning room. They miss their flight and the daughter is just incredibly angry with her mom for that. How could she do that to her? It was just...she holds onto that for a long time and it is just like do you not realize that Alzheimer's is not something she can really control? I think if she could she would. I was glad when the daughter finally started being nice to her mom again, but I never liked the daughter. She was always a little too self absorbed for me.
It is really kind of scary reading how Lillie Claire progresses. My main issue however is that it is hard to tell how much time has passed. How quickly has this disease progressed? How quickly did it get to the point that she needs someone with her all the time? I never really knew if it was one day or one year between chapters. There also seemed to be a lot of time that is just skipped over. I felt like if it would have shown the progression more gradually, showed more of the daily workings of Lillie Claire, it would have been a more powerful book. Because so much time seemed to have elapsed between the chapters I didn't really get as engaged as I could have. I did almost cry at the end of the book though just because it is really sad. It makes me think of the people I have lost and it is just hard to read.
The one part of the book I didn't really like were the letter to her kids. I really just skimmed them. I am not sure why exactly I didn't like them, but they kind of bored me. I didn't really care so much about them, but I could see where her children would love to read them once she was gone.
Overall a good book, but I just felt if it would have been deeper, more detailed in the progression of the disease, I would have enjoyed it more.
Also posted to Jen in Bookland
July 8, 2015
All the Dancing Birds gives us an extremely painful and personal view of Lillie Claire's hopeless battle with Alzheimer's disease. Much has been written about Alzheimer's disease, yet this fictitious account of Lillie Claire's ever losing fight with this debilitating disease enables its readers to understand just how devastating the disease is to its victims. Here are a couple of excerpts from the novel to give you a glimpse into the pain and confusion the main character experiences as Alzheimer's disease progressively and aggressively feasts on her brain...
... "Every day there are more and more small downward steps—tiny little backward movements that leave me stunned and ashamed. I shuffle, drift, float through time. Now and then I surprise myself by popping up to take a deep breath of clarity before once more diving under the surface of an ocean always stormy with forgetfulness..."
... "YOU LOOK. You look into the mirror hoping to see your face, your familiar face. Instead, you see the startled eyes of a new woman, winking, blinking back at you..."
... "YOU SCREAM. You scream into your head and into the air because you don’t recognize the man who, with the web of his large hands, has taken hold of yours like they are tender, fragile birds. You struggle to free yourself. He is a stranger to your eyes and to your heart...The man calls you his mother..."
And so it goes, as Lillie Claire, once an author and a poet, loses her memory, bit by bit, day by day, and the very words that were once her gift, bringing her great joy, flee from her. Yet, perhaps the most tragic part of this disease's invasion of her brain, is the fact that although her memories and ability to function and communicate have been destroyed, Lillie Claire still remains cognitive that she has lost all of those gifts and abilities that had once brought her great joy.
This beautifully written novel is a must read for everyone, but it is especially important for loved ones and caregivers of the many men and women, whose lives are being destroyed by this dreadful disease.
... "Every day there are more and more small downward steps—tiny little backward movements that leave me stunned and ashamed. I shuffle, drift, float through time. Now and then I surprise myself by popping up to take a deep breath of clarity before once more diving under the surface of an ocean always stormy with forgetfulness..."
... "YOU LOOK. You look into the mirror hoping to see your face, your familiar face. Instead, you see the startled eyes of a new woman, winking, blinking back at you..."
... "YOU SCREAM. You scream into your head and into the air because you don’t recognize the man who, with the web of his large hands, has taken hold of yours like they are tender, fragile birds. You struggle to free yourself. He is a stranger to your eyes and to your heart...The man calls you his mother..."
And so it goes, as Lillie Claire, once an author and a poet, loses her memory, bit by bit, day by day, and the very words that were once her gift, bringing her great joy, flee from her. Yet, perhaps the most tragic part of this disease's invasion of her brain, is the fact that although her memories and ability to function and communicate have been destroyed, Lillie Claire still remains cognitive that she has lost all of those gifts and abilities that had once brought her great joy.
This beautifully written novel is a must read for everyone, but it is especially important for loved ones and caregivers of the many men and women, whose lives are being destroyed by this dreadful disease.
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