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Crosswicks Journals #2
The Summer of the Great-Grandmother
A poignant meditation on the bonds between mothers and daughters—and the inescapable effects of time—from the author of A Wrinkle in Time .
In the second memoir of her Crosswicks Journals, Madeleine L’Engle chronicles a season of extremes. Four generations of family have gathered at Crosswicks, her Connecticut farmhouse, to care for L’Engle’s ninety-year-old mother. As summer days fade to sleepless nights, her mother’s health rapidly declines and her once astute mind slips into senility. With poignant honesty, L’Engle describes the gifts and graces, as well as the painful emotional cost, of caring for the one who once cared for you.
As she spends her days with a mother who barely resembles the competent and vigorous woman who bore and raised her, L’Engle delves into her memories, reflecting on the lives of the strong women in her family’s history. Evoking both personal experiences and universal themes, The Summer of the Great-Grandmother takes an unflinching look at diminishment and death, all the while celebrating the wonder of life.
In the second memoir of her Crosswicks Journals, Madeleine L’Engle chronicles a season of extremes. Four generations of family have gathered at Crosswicks, her Connecticut farmhouse, to care for L’Engle’s ninety-year-old mother. As summer days fade to sleepless nights, her mother’s health rapidly declines and her once astute mind slips into senility. With poignant honesty, L’Engle describes the gifts and graces, as well as the painful emotional cost, of caring for the one who once cared for you.
As she spends her days with a mother who barely resembles the competent and vigorous woman who bore and raised her, L’Engle delves into her memories, reflecting on the lives of the strong women in her family’s history. Evoking both personal experiences and universal themes, The Summer of the Great-Grandmother takes an unflinching look at diminishment and death, all the while celebrating the wonder of life.
256 pages, Paperback
First published November 20, 1974
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About the author
Madeleine L'Engle
172 books9,218 followersMadeleine L'Engle was an American writer of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time. Her works reflect both her Christian faith and her strong interest in modern science.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 316 reviews
July 17, 2018
Life is a fugue. Our lives and memories overlap and run into one another. Perhaps, if I had not spent 20 days this summer at a hospice house this book would only have 4 stars but for me this is the summer of the great grandfather and not a word was wasted. Five whole stars worth of words.
And then there are the chapters of stories, stories taking place in places I also know and love, that old Florida which I stare into nightly in a painting on my wall. Sometimes I almost fall into it and this book was like that for me. I cannot go too long without hearing the surf either, Madeleine. It has been too long, thank-you for the much needed visit.
Madeleine, herself, is now gone, but this summer I am reading and living her book. I am thankful not to be alone.
And then there are the chapters of stories, stories taking place in places I also know and love, that old Florida which I stare into nightly in a painting on my wall. Sometimes I almost fall into it and this book was like that for me. I cannot go too long without hearing the surf either, Madeleine. It has been too long, thank-you for the much needed visit.
Madeleine, herself, is now gone, but this summer I am reading and living her book. I am thankful not to be alone.
May 15, 2022
In this second of four volumes of journals, Madeleine L'Engle writes "this is our fourth four-generation summer." This is remarkable if you stop to think about it.
The focus of this journal is L'Engle's mother, who is a proud Great-Grandmother and this is her final summer on earth. Much time is devoted to re-discovering her mother's life including her adventures "in the days before planes [when] she traveled by camel and donkey; she strode casually through a world which is gone and which [L'Engle] will never see except through her eyes."
L'Engle writes of losing her mother slowly as she declines. The woman she knew has become a stranger, "the light behind her face is no longer there." She describes how "up until a few years ago she was an example of a woman who had lived life fully, and who grows yearly more beautiful with age."
The process of her mother's decline leaves her "furious with Mother for not being my mother, and I am filled with an aching tenderness I have never known before." How exquisitely painful to make this transition to mothering your mother and facing up to your own mortality.
L'Engle writes, "There is something atavistic in us which resents, rejects, this reversal of roles. I want my mother to be my mother. And she is not. Not anymore. Not ever again." In contrast, babies and animals accept and affirm Great-Grandmother exactly as she is and she can be at peace with them.
L'Engle appears to find some sense of peace of her own through rest and sleep. She writes, "I still treasure the time before sleep comes, when I move into the shallows before plunging down into deep waters; and the minutes before I surface into the daylight and the routine of the day, when I swim slowly up from sleep and dreams, still partly in that strange, underwater world where I know things which my conscious mind is not able to comprehend."
The focus of this journal is L'Engle's mother, who is a proud Great-Grandmother and this is her final summer on earth. Much time is devoted to re-discovering her mother's life including her adventures "in the days before planes [when] she traveled by camel and donkey; she strode casually through a world which is gone and which [L'Engle] will never see except through her eyes."
L'Engle writes of losing her mother slowly as she declines. The woman she knew has become a stranger, "the light behind her face is no longer there." She describes how "up until a few years ago she was an example of a woman who had lived life fully, and who grows yearly more beautiful with age."
The process of her mother's decline leaves her "furious with Mother for not being my mother, and I am filled with an aching tenderness I have never known before." How exquisitely painful to make this transition to mothering your mother and facing up to your own mortality.
L'Engle writes, "There is something atavistic in us which resents, rejects, this reversal of roles. I want my mother to be my mother. And she is not. Not anymore. Not ever again." In contrast, babies and animals accept and affirm Great-Grandmother exactly as she is and she can be at peace with them.
L'Engle appears to find some sense of peace of her own through rest and sleep. She writes, "I still treasure the time before sleep comes, when I move into the shallows before plunging down into deep waters; and the minutes before I surface into the daylight and the routine of the day, when I swim slowly up from sleep and dreams, still partly in that strange, underwater world where I know things which my conscious mind is not able to comprehend."
July 20, 2018
In this second volume of The Crosswicks Journal (after A Circle of Quiet), L’Engle recounts her family history as a way of remembering on behalf of her mother, who at age 90 was slipping into dementia in her final summer. “I talked awhile, earlier this summer, about wanting my mother to have a dignified death. But there is nothing dignified about incontinence and senility.” She found herself in the unwanted position of being like her mother’s mother, and had to accept that she had no control over the situation. “This summer is practice in dying for me as well as for my mother.”
One of the reasons L’Engle was driven to write science fiction was because she couldn’t reconcile the idea of permanent human extinction with her Christian faith, but nor could she honestly affirm every word of the Creed. Hers is a more broad-minded, mystical spirituality that really appeals to me.
(L’Engle’s early life reminds me of May Sarton’s, as recounted in I Knew a Phoenix: both were born right around World War I, raised partially in Europe and sent to boarding school; and a frequent theme in their nonfiction is the regenerative power of solitude and of the writing process itself.)
Favorite lines:
“I said [in a lecture] that the artist’s response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, not to impose restrictive rules but to rejoice in pattern and meaning, for there is something in all artists which rejects coincidence and accident. And I went on to say that we must meet the precariousness of the universe without self-pity, and with dignity and courage.”
“Our lives are given a certain dignity by their very evanescence. If there were never to be an end to my quiet moments at the brook, if I could sit on the rock forever, I would not treasure these minutes so much. If our associations with the people we love were to have no termination, we would not value them as much as we do.”
“most of us are not aware of the small things we do—or don’t do—that cause pain which is never forgotten.”
One of the reasons L’Engle was driven to write science fiction was because she couldn’t reconcile the idea of permanent human extinction with her Christian faith, but nor could she honestly affirm every word of the Creed. Hers is a more broad-minded, mystical spirituality that really appeals to me.
(L’Engle’s early life reminds me of May Sarton’s, as recounted in I Knew a Phoenix: both were born right around World War I, raised partially in Europe and sent to boarding school; and a frequent theme in their nonfiction is the regenerative power of solitude and of the writing process itself.)
Favorite lines:
“I said [in a lecture] that the artist’s response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, not to impose restrictive rules but to rejoice in pattern and meaning, for there is something in all artists which rejects coincidence and accident. And I went on to say that we must meet the precariousness of the universe without self-pity, and with dignity and courage.”
“Our lives are given a certain dignity by their very evanescence. If there were never to be an end to my quiet moments at the brook, if I could sit on the rock forever, I would not treasure these minutes so much. If our associations with the people we love were to have no termination, we would not value them as much as we do.”
“most of us are not aware of the small things we do—or don’t do—that cause pain which is never forgotten.”
January 24, 2020
Own.
Much to consider. What is the essence of a person, the ousia? A wonderful follow-up to A Circle of Quiet. L'Engle wrestles with life, death, identity, and the soul.
I particularly loved the section of her mother's ancestry and the stories of the people in her family tree. I loved their informal education.
Much to consider. What is the essence of a person, the ousia? A wonderful follow-up to A Circle of Quiet. L'Engle wrestles with life, death, identity, and the soul.
I particularly loved the section of her mother's ancestry and the stories of the people in her family tree. I loved their informal education.
April 5, 2014
I had read other books my Madeleine like Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door, but this book sounded entirely different. I don't remember now where I heard about it. I think it was mentioned in another book I was reading. Nevertheless, it was wonderful. My greatest take away was how important it is to share stories in our families. They will bless our lives.
March 7, 2017
I love Madeleine L'Engle's YA fiction and have for over 20 years. I've read several of her novels for the first time as an adult and thought they were wonderful (The Joys of Love and A Ring of Endless Light, for example). This was the first nonfiction book I've read by her, and while it is full of many poignant moments about treasuring the time we have with loved ones and insights about family love, conflict, and grief, overall I found Parts 2 and 3 (the middle two parts, out of four) to be dull. They were about L'Engle's own ancestors and felt like tall tales about her family's greatness, with a grain of truth and a lot of arrogance. Stories of a grandfather who didn't board the Lusitania, a white great-grandmother who had a black friend when it was "unheard of", and slaves of great-grandparents who were apparently honored to be "more like servants" to their masters, honestly just felt more like tone-deafness and self-congratulation to me than anything else. I found myself reading through those parts quickly to get back to the present-day action. I recommend reading Parts 1 and 4 and skipping the middle.
January 6, 2022
I'm reading The Crosswick Journals all out of order, and of the ones I've read so far, this one touches least on L'Engle's writing life. She does, however, detail much of her family's specific backstory (particularly as related to the family matriarchs), and once again, I kept being surprised every time I was reminded that L'Engle and I are not contemporaries. I don't know how she manages it, but her voice is always so consistently PRESENT that when she says things like "my mother was born right at the end of the Civil War," I'm like, "wait, what. That can't be right." Worth reading for a number of reasons, including her honest and emotional discussion of what it's like to watch someone you love age, change, and grow distant with dementia while being more physically present in your life than ever.
August 31, 2014
I am not a huge Madeleine L'Engle fan. This book is the second in a trilogy based at the author's home, Crosswicks, I believe. It gives quite a good history of her illustrious ancestors and talks a bit about her mother's declining health and dementia. I feel that maybe she was whitewashing things quite a bit. Not so much about her mother but about her own life and the life of her ancestors. Wouldn't recommend it-seemed very pretentious.
June 19, 2012
Madeleine L'Engle chronicles the last summer of her mother's life with love, honesty, and, yes, even her doubts. The loss of a beloved parent is one of the most difficult of life's experiences even though it is one of the most natural. I was deeply touched by L'Engle's struggle and quest for peace in this second journal of hers that I have read.
April 1, 2025
My Grandma just turned 90. This book is coming at the right time yet again. This is a book about death, life, and the stories in between. I thoroughly enjoyed her stories of her own family history. I want these words embedded in my bones somehow.
July 7, 2024
This book is very relevant to my life right now, in the process of facing mortality with a parent. Worthwhile read.
November 11, 2023
So much love for The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, the second book of The Crosswicks Journal. It’s a slow comforting read that recounts the past memories of Madeleine, her mother (the great-grandmother) and her forebears, whom provided much solace and guidance for her. Poignant, intricate, and honest, this is easily one of the best memoirs I’ve read thus far.
“When I look at the long green and gold days of this summer, the beautiful days are probably more beautiful, and the horrible days more horrible, than in actuality. But there's no denying that it's a summer of extremes.”
“Perfectionism is imprisoning.”; “… according to Shakespeare; freedom to remember, to share, to dream, to accept irrationality and paradox is what makes us human animals.”
“Our lives are given a certain dignity by their very evanescence. If there were never to be an end to my quiet moments at the brook, if I could sit on the rock forever, I would not treasure these minutes so much.”
5/5
“When I look at the long green and gold days of this summer, the beautiful days are probably more beautiful, and the horrible days more horrible, than in actuality. But there's no denying that it's a summer of extremes.”
“Perfectionism is imprisoning.”; “… according to Shakespeare; freedom to remember, to share, to dream, to accept irrationality and paradox is what makes us human animals.”
“Our lives are given a certain dignity by their very evanescence. If there were never to be an end to my quiet moments at the brook, if I could sit on the rock forever, I would not treasure these minutes so much.”
5/5
September 29, 2015
This one came at a good time. We had to say good-bye to our dog at the end of August, and reading this helped with some of the emotions that one goes through when one suffers a loss of any kind. I read this mostly with my dad, and we both enjoyed L'Engle's writing, as usual, but we also enjoyed the stories about her great grandparents, grandparents, and parents. They are fun, interesting, and exciting stories. The sections about her present time with her mother are sad and moving. L'Engle does a good job of conveying her feelings of sadness and loss, the grieving that she went through before her mother even passed. She is honest and open, not afraid of coming across callous or disrespectful (while always being sensitive and respectful).
I highly recommend this nonfiction account of her relationship with her mother to L'Engle fans but also to anybody who has become more of a parent than a child to her parents or to anybody who has suffered/is suffering loss (whether of a parent, a beloved pet, or a friend).
I highly recommend this nonfiction account of her relationship with her mother to L'Engle fans but also to anybody who has become more of a parent than a child to her parents or to anybody who has suffered/is suffering loss (whether of a parent, a beloved pet, or a friend).
October 8, 2022
I read this book many years ago and was so impressed with it that it has stayed with me every since. I am reading the Crosswicks Journals, and so decided to reread this one in it's place in the series. Since I am much older than when I read it the first time, I read it from a somewhat different point of view. I did love all the family stories just as much as ever. Madeleine's fiction is full of her family stories and real life problems abound. Her love of the ocean and the stars are very understandable the more you know about her family. So glad I read it again.
March 29, 2013
While I didn't find this as strong as her other non-fiction, I really enjoyed her account of taking care of her mother in her last days. She openly discusses the grieving process, including the memories that flood you during this time. The mid-section is these memories, which is not as interesting as the beginning and end, hence the three star review.
Highly recommended, however.
Highly recommended, however.
January 14, 2009
This is one of the first books I've read in a while that has let me cry - written beautifully, conveying emotions honestly and truthfully. I love L'Engle's autobiographical works. They make me feel a little bit "normal", and inspire me remarkably - to write, to read, even to do my homework!
November 7, 2018
This memoir is touching and brings up all the feels. Highly recommend
March 4, 2021
An extremely emotional book that keeps emotion at arm's length practically the entire time. Really a great reminder that we are here for a short while, surrounded by the histories of others who were here for a short while, and the potential histories stretching out ahead of us, only to be seen in fragments. My mother lent me this while I was in the hospital recently and worried I wouldn't like it. I'm looking forward to letting her know I thought it was incredible.
March 9, 2023
Beautiful. She celebrates her mother’s life, but also tells her readers how she is feeling as her mother spends her last summer at their home. l’Engle takes us back in time with her other relatives with stories her mother and sister their relatives told her.
I hear hints of Wrinkle In Time and I catch some of her thoughts about it.
I had a hard time putting it down, especially at the end.
I wanted her to ask her mother why she was afraid. She seemed to be assuming she knew. Maybe she had already asked her. She didn’t share that part. If someone is afraid, please ask them why. So important.
I hear hints of Wrinkle In Time and I catch some of her thoughts about it.
I had a hard time putting it down, especially at the end.
I wanted her to ask her mother why she was afraid. She seemed to be assuming she knew. Maybe she had already asked her. She didn’t share that part. If someone is afraid, please ask them why. So important.
July 17, 2019
3.5 out of 5 stars
Not as enjoyable as the first Crosswicks book (all that family reminiscing got a little boring for me), but still a fantastic read. I admit that I'm growing annoyed by Madeleine L'Engle's struggle to simply believe. Some things she wants to believe, but somehow can't, at least not all the time. I wonder: Is she just more honest than the rest of us?
Not as enjoyable as the first Crosswicks book (all that family reminiscing got a little boring for me), but still a fantastic read. I admit that I'm growing annoyed by Madeleine L'Engle's struggle to simply believe. Some things she wants to believe, but somehow can't, at least not all the time. I wonder: Is she just more honest than the rest of us?
July 14, 2012
I found this to be an easier read than A Circle of Quiet. In it we learn about L'Engle's childhood, about her mother's early years, and about her mother's family. It is really quite interesting. All of this is recorded in a contemplative style. The book is set during L'Engle's final summer with her mother, and it is obviously a bit sad at times, but never overly sentimental.
Quotes I liked:
"There is little character or loveliness in the face of someone who has avoided suffering, shunned risk, rejected life." pg. 28
"At best I am far from a perfect wife, or mother, or daughter....But Connie made me realize that one reason I don't feel guilty is that I no longer feel I have to be perfect. I am not in charge of the universe, whereas a humanist has to be, and when something goes wrong, tiny, delicate Connie, like most convinced humanists I've known, becomes enclosed with self-blame because she can't cope with the situation, and this inability presents her with a picture of herself which is not the all-competent, in-control-of-everything person she wants to see." pg. 51
"Perfectionism is imprisoning. As long as I demand it, in myself or anybody else, I am not free, and all my life - I've believed that freedom is important, that, despite all our misuse and abuse of it, freedom is what makes us a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor, according to the psalmist; how like a god, according to Shakespeare; freedom to remember, to share, to dream, to accept irrationality and paradox is what makes us human animals." pg. 134
Quotes I liked:
"There is little character or loveliness in the face of someone who has avoided suffering, shunned risk, rejected life." pg. 28
"At best I am far from a perfect wife, or mother, or daughter....But Connie made me realize that one reason I don't feel guilty is that I no longer feel I have to be perfect. I am not in charge of the universe, whereas a humanist has to be, and when something goes wrong, tiny, delicate Connie, like most convinced humanists I've known, becomes enclosed with self-blame because she can't cope with the situation, and this inability presents her with a picture of herself which is not the all-competent, in-control-of-everything person she wants to see." pg. 51
"Perfectionism is imprisoning. As long as I demand it, in myself or anybody else, I am not free, and all my life - I've believed that freedom is important, that, despite all our misuse and abuse of it, freedom is what makes us a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor, according to the psalmist; how like a god, according to Shakespeare; freedom to remember, to share, to dream, to accept irrationality and paradox is what makes us human animals." pg. 134
September 8, 2011
This book is the 2nd in a 4 or 5 part series. I only read this one for book group. I might have benefited by reading the first, only because my biggest complaint about the book is that the author refers to people at times and expects you to know who she is talking about. I am going to assume she introduces those people to us in the first book. Other than that, I think it is a fairly good stand alone book.
The book deals with the real life feelings and struggles of watching a parent enter a second childhood or senility. As I read the first section, I could see both my grandmother and my grandfather as they slipped away from reality. Though I saw those situations from a much greater distance, the things she said reminded me of things expressed by my parents. As the author explores her feelings on the subject, it was a bit of a hard read. The book picks up dramatically as she introduces us to the mother that she knew and didn't know in the second and third section.
The book deals with the real life feelings and struggles of watching a parent enter a second childhood or senility. As I read the first section, I could see both my grandmother and my grandfather as they slipped away from reality. Though I saw those situations from a much greater distance, the things she said reminded me of things expressed by my parents. As the author explores her feelings on the subject, it was a bit of a hard read. The book picks up dramatically as she introduces us to the mother that she knew and didn't know in the second and third section.
October 10, 2014
This book caught my eye today as I browsed the eclectic collection of new and used books at Green Mountain Books in Lyndon, Vermont. I was introduced to L'Engle's non-fiction by my friend, Carol, who lent me Tow Part Invention, a wonderful portrait of a marriage. This book is supposed to address aging, a topic that both intrigues and repels me as I make my way through my sixties and towards the next chapter of my life.
July 27, 2011
Sweet, nostalgic and very autobiographical. I love the way L'Engle finds the common thread that runs through the generations of her family--and I'm dead jealous that her ancestors stories weren't some deep, dark embarrassing secret. This inspires me to delve into my genealogical closet…
January 10, 2021
I loved this!! I really love Madeleine L’Engle’s writing the more I read it. This reminded me so much of my grandmother who died of Alzheimer’s. She died 12 years ago but I felt like I processed a lot of losing grandparent grief by listening to Madeleine processing her own experience. So good.
August 2, 2024
I felt like this compared in a lot of ways to The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, but it was slightly less hopeless and sad. I think because L’Engle was a bit of a liberal, wishy-washy Christian her theology is hard to pin down, but the book was fascinating overall.
July 27, 2015
Terrific!
June 9, 2018
Three and one half stars. I enjoyed the Crosswicks Journals 1-4 many years ago. L'Engle's glimpse into her life as a writer, wife, parent and friend was refreshing as I tried to juggle all of the balls.
The Summer of the Great-Grandmother was most interesting to me because of living in the southern city she refers to in her writing. I am intimately familar with the places and stories she tells. I will say her account of the great fire of Jacksonville contains one slight inaccuracy. The fire was started by burning spanish moss, but it was not set intentionally. It was accidently set on fire at a mattress warehouse, where mattress ticks were stuffed with dried spanish moss in those days.
Her family tree and the stories about her family were fascinating and her overall theme hit home- how do we honor and care for our parents and grandparents that leaves them with dignity? How do we face dying and funerals and the messiness of death? When is a death, when people live longer and longer- a happy release for both the old person and those who survive?
The Summer of the Great-Grandmother was most interesting to me because of living in the southern city she refers to in her writing. I am intimately familar with the places and stories she tells. I will say her account of the great fire of Jacksonville contains one slight inaccuracy. The fire was started by burning spanish moss, but it was not set intentionally. It was accidently set on fire at a mattress warehouse, where mattress ticks were stuffed with dried spanish moss in those days.
Her family tree and the stories about her family were fascinating and her overall theme hit home- how do we honor and care for our parents and grandparents that leaves them with dignity? How do we face dying and funerals and the messiness of death? When is a death, when people live longer and longer- a happy release for both the old person and those who survive?
January 10, 2022
REally only 2.5 stars but rounding up because I like L'Engle so much.
The first section really spoke to me, as I imagine it speaks to most people who are dealing with seeing their parents age. I appreciated her emotional openness, and thought that she articulated the pain and the conflicting emotions extremely well.
Unfortunately, the middle sections, while reasonably interesting, didn't really work for me in the context of the overall book. Presumably for the author, thinking about how her ancestors are part of their descendants provides continuity and a sense of the immortal. But it didn't feel that way to me. And, as some other reviewers have noted, her claim that her Confederate ancestors "didn't think that the South's point was about slavery" was weak, along with her insistence that because of how her mother described them to her, she knew they were not dishonest or dishonorable.
The last section was honest and emotional again, but didn't speak to me as much as the first section.
The first section really spoke to me, as I imagine it speaks to most people who are dealing with seeing their parents age. I appreciated her emotional openness, and thought that she articulated the pain and the conflicting emotions extremely well.
Unfortunately, the middle sections, while reasonably interesting, didn't really work for me in the context of the overall book. Presumably for the author, thinking about how her ancestors are part of their descendants provides continuity and a sense of the immortal. But it didn't feel that way to me. And, as some other reviewers have noted, her claim that her Confederate ancestors "didn't think that the South's point was about slavery" was weak, along with her insistence that because of how her mother described them to her, she knew they were not dishonest or dishonorable.
The last section was honest and emotional again, but didn't speak to me as much as the first section.
January 16, 2018
This is a very touching book about the final summer spent with the four generations of L'Engle's family in ther summer home; it being (unknoweinlgy at that time) her mother's final summer.
L'Engle is dealing with the reality of her mother's physical decline, as well as her mental decline due to dementia. This book is a tribute to her mother's life; the mother she knew, the mother she didn't know and the impact this all has on the present sitution.
A very touching and thought provoking book. L'Egnle has a way with word pictures that blows me away when it comes to describing issues of dementia and being a daughter and a care giver. Much abouk has he'ped me in facing and dealing with my own mother's having Alzheimer's and my issues as a care giver. I'll definitely be reading this again.
L'Engle is dealing with the reality of her mother's physical decline, as well as her mental decline due to dementia. This book is a tribute to her mother's life; the mother she knew, the mother she didn't know and the impact this all has on the present sitution.
A very touching and thought provoking book. L'Egnle has a way with word pictures that blows me away when it comes to describing issues of dementia and being a daughter and a care giver. Much abouk has he'ped me in facing and dealing with my own mother's having Alzheimer's and my issues as a care giver. I'll definitely be reading this again.
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