The End of Your Life Book Club: A Memoir
A profoundly moving memoir of caregiving, mourning, and love between a mother and her son—and about the joy of reading, and the ways that joy is multiplied when we share it with others.
“A graceful, affecting testament to a mother and a life well lived.” —Entertainment Weekly, Grade A
During her treatment for cancer, Mary Anne Schwalbe and her son Will spent many hours sitting in waiting rooms together. To pass the time, they would talk about the books they were reading. Once, by chance, they read the same book at the same time—and an informal book club of two was born. Through their wide-ranging reading, Will and Mary Anne—and we, their fellow readers—are reminded how books can be comforting, astonishing, and illuminating, changing the way that we feel about and interact with the world around us.
“A graceful, affecting testament to a mother and a life well lived.” —Entertainment Weekly, Grade A
During her treatment for cancer, Mary Anne Schwalbe and her son Will spent many hours sitting in waiting rooms together. To pass the time, they would talk about the books they were reading. Once, by chance, they read the same book at the same time—and an informal book club of two was born. Through their wide-ranging reading, Will and Mary Anne—and we, their fellow readers—are reminded how books can be comforting, astonishing, and illuminating, changing the way that we feel about and interact with the world around us.
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Community Reviews
A man and his mother form a book club and read books together. The mother is undergoing chemotherapy and they read and discuss several many books over the course of a year. It is about books and cancer treatment.
A memoir by Will Schwalbe recounting his relationship with his mother, Mary Anne, during her battle with pancreatic cancer. To cope with treatment, they established an informal book club, discussing a wide range of books in the hospital waiting room, which provided a way to have deep, personal conversations about life, death, faith, and gratitude.
I loved this book because Mary Anne Schwalbe is my new hero. To be half the person she is would probably be a wild success. Also, I love books about books! My reading list has been revised. I've read some of the books mentioned but I hope to reread this after reading more of its recommendations. Will Schwalbe's mother is dying and there is a little wisdom about the end of life in it, but it's mostly a book about how to live your life well.
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