The Thin Ledge: A Husband’s Memoir of Love, Trauma, and Unexpected Circumstances

by Daniel P. Shapiro

Amazon Best Seller in Fatherhood, Family Health, and Parenting Emotions & FeelingsWhat would you do if the person you love became someone else?In this profoundly honest memoir, Daniel P. Shapiro shares the reality of living through his wife’s mental and physical decline caused by a devastating illness.Shapiro was a successful attorney in his early forties when his wife, Susan, suffered a brain bleed and a diagnosis that her future was uncertain. Stunned, and with three young children, the couple made the most of the few years that followed, before a massive second hemorrhage changed everything. Physically, Susan was badly compromised in her ability to speak, see, and walk. Mentally, she spiraled into depression and experienced a drastic personality change.The Thin Ledge is about coping (often unsuccessfully) with the wreckage left in the wake of an illness that destroys a loved one. Shapiro addresses the questions that people living through unspeakable tragedy may never mention, but almost always ask.

Genres: Memoir

243 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 6, 2021

Reviews

[Elisabeth Brookshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

A moral quandary

First of, don't read through the reviews of this book before engaging because of some spoilers out there. Or then again, maybe you should so you don't experience the same highs and lows as I did while reading this. The author/husband is Jewish so I assume he only believes in divorce in the case of adultery. When he made his vows, "in sickness and in health" how sick are we actually talking about? Early dementia? Dialysis? HIV? Should he receive an award for all his long suffering that he barely conceals as an inner rage flowing onto paper? I think about Terry Shiavo, and former NFL player's wife, Cyndy Feasal. I remember Junior Seau's death. Brain injury is no joke. Many believe mass murderer Richard Speck suffered from TBI. The author is much better equipped financially than many who experience the sickness of their spouse. I just felt he was embarrassed by her. That they were no longer seen as a fun, sexy couple you'd invite to your cocktail party. Might I suggest you read about quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada's accident and subsequent marriage? Frankly, the last chapter disgusted me. I would be ashamed to have my children read about their mother in this fashion or about all the sexual thrills and fantasies that I had a hard time distinguishing between. Be prepared for a bumpy ride...for your own morals to be questioned and what an oath based in faith actually means.

[Jan McCoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why would anyone write this for publication.

He whines in circles throughout the entire book. I couldn't tell if he is looking for redemption or a pat on the back, perhaps both. The writing was not gripping or moving. It did not make me want to keep reading except to see what the outcome was for his stricken wife.

[Jenny Alford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Life Without

Reading this story about a married couple who experience the unthinkable is riveting, but as the wife exists after a traumatic brain hemorrhage and the husband resents her and grows to hate her for making him live a life with an incapacitated spouse. This book was well written, but the husband's lack of compassion is almost shocking.

[G.P. Gottlieb · Rating 5 out of 5]

In sometimes breathtaking prose, the author describes living through an unspeakable tragedy. Here's my New Books Network podcast interview with author Daniel P. Shapiro: https://gpgottlieb.com/the-thin-ledge...

[Cathleen Blackburn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it halfway through. It’s just a factual recounting without any personal analysis of emotional growth. I was hoping for personal growth because a loved one just had a life-changing (at least for now) surgery and I am grappling with how best to process the emotions.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very raw, painful read. No person or family deserves this type of pain. An important book for others who may experienced this and for the rest of us who haven’t.

[jan henderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started off interesting but the second half was so very boring.