Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Socrates Book Reviews; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.
Today’s feature is a new book from a favorite author: I’ll Be Seeing You, by Elizabeth Berg.
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Intro: October 30, 2010
The failing of an aging parent is one of those old stories that feels abrasively new to the person experiencing it. At eighty-nine years of age, my father has begun, in his own words, to “lose it.” This is a man who was for so many years terrifying to me. He was tall and fit, a lifer in the U.S. Army whose way of awakening me in the morning when I was in high school was to stand at the threshold of my bedroom and say, “Move out.”
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Teaser: This morning, I awakened wondering if my mother will be mad at me for doing this, and if my father will be confused by it. I hope not. (p.73).
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Synopsis: Elizabeth Berg’s father was an Army veteran who was a tough man in every way but one: He showed a great deal of love and tenderness to his wife. Berg describes her parents’ marriage as a romance that lasted for nearly seventy years; she grew up watching her father kiss her mother upon leaving home, and kiss her again the instant he came back. His idea of when he should spend time away from her was never.
But then Berg’s father developed Alzheimer’s disease, and her parents were forced to leave the home they loved and move into a facility that could offer them help. It was time for the couple’s children to offer, to the best of their abilities, practical advice, emotional support, and direction—to, in effect, parent the people who had for so long parented them. It was a hard transition, mitigated at least by flashes of humor and joy. The mix of emotions on everyone’s part could make every day feel like walking through a minefield. Then came redemption.
I’ll Be Seeing You charts the passage from the anguish of loss to the understanding that even in the most fractious times, love can heal, transform, and lead to graceful—and grateful—acceptance.
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What do you think? Would you keep reading?
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SNOW SPARKS 
Oh wow, this sounds like a memoir? I didn’t know she had a new book out. I’d read more.
Here is my pick:https://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2020/11/troubles-in-paradise-elin-hilderbrand.html
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Thanks, Diane, I love anything she writes, and this memoir does sound so good to me.
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Sounds touching and heartbreaking–be sure to have the tissues handy.
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Oh, yes, Catherine, I will definitely have them handy!
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I usually don’t read memoirs but this sounds good. I’ve enjoyed fiction books by this author. I’m sure this is good too.
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I am looking forward to it, Yvonne.
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It sounds interesting and very emotional. Hope you enjoy it! And thanks for coming by my teaser.
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I hope so, too, Laura.
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It sounds like it is an incredibly sad story. But I’m sure there are poignant moments.
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Yes, Donna, I think it will definitely be a poignant journey.
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This sounds like a tear jerker. I don’t know if I could read this one right now, especially since I’m dealing with a similar situation with an older family member. It’s heartbreaking but we try to see the good in each day.
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
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Thanks, Denise, and yes, sometimes we have to step back from books that will tug at our sadness heartstrings.
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