Not only a love letter to his mom, but a love letter to books and their power to help us all remember both the struggle and the joy it is to be human and the grace we can find in our shared humanity. In the pantheon of cancers, pancreatic is one of the most deadly, especially once it spreads to other organs, the liver, in mrs schwalbes case. Throughout the book, will talks about books as symbols and sources of hope. One of the joys in this book is getting to know his formidable mary anne schwalbea woman who accomplished and experienced more in her lifetime than most. Forming a book club of two members, they read the same books till her death, two years later.
A profoundly moving memoir of caregiving, mourning, and love the end of your life book club is also about the joy of reading, and the ways that joy is multiplied when we share it with others. The author, will schwalbe, tells the story of his mothers battle with terminal cancer and her endoflifejourney with books. But mary anne schwalbe is such a fierce, unsentimental heroineand her son such a frank and funny storytellerthat what could have been an emotional roller coaster turns out to be a beautifully. The end of your life book club by will schwalbe book.
While his mother was being treated for cancer, will sat with her in the hospital and the two discussed what they had read recently. The end of your life book club paperback the end of your life book club paperback. The kite runner by khaled hosseini, gone with the wind by margaret mitchell, the diary of a young girl by anne frank, a thou. The book was insightful in learning things to say and do, as well as what not to say and do for a person who is dying. Forming a book club of two members, they read the same books till her. Will schwalbe, founder of, has worked in publishing most recently as senior vice president and editor in chief of hyperion books. The inspiring story of a son and his dying mother, who form a book club that brings them together as her life comes to a close. The end of your life book club, by will schwalbe the. He is the author of the international bestseller, the end of your life book club and the criticallyacclaimed books for living, and coauthor with david shipley of send. For a better life, better family and better world, read this moving elegy from a gifted and loving son to an extraordinary mother. In that publication the books are the main characters. The end of your life book club too often reads like wills mary anne schwalbe book. I fell head over heels for mary ann schwalbe, thanks to. Reading the end of your life book club did not inspire me in my reading.
Reading guide for the end of your life book club by will. Through their wideranging reading, will and mary anneand we, their fellow readersare reminded how books can be comforting, astonishing, and illuminating. Tissues at the ready, i braced myself for the end of your life book club, will schwalbes. This challenge is a listing of the books, plays, poems, and stories discussed or mentioned in the end of your life book club. Every book mentioned in the end of your life book club. It is the memoir of an adult son, and a biography of his aging and terminally ill mother. Sharing books he loved with his savvy new yorker mom had always been a great pleasure for both mother and son, becoming especially poignant. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. During her treatment for cancer, mary anne schwalbe and her son will spent many hours sitting in waiting rooms together. Once, by chance, they read the same book at the same timeand an informal book club of two was born. As its title suggests, these discussions are the ostensible subject of will schwalbes memoir, the end of your life book club.
This became the beginning of the end of your life book club. Where only an author was mentioned, a representative title is included. Most of the people in my life who have died have left suddenly, unexpectedly. The end of your life book club by writer and publisher will schwalbe, is a novel about the authors mother, exploring her relationship with books and her commitment to changing the world for the better. Prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion. Once, by chance, they read the same book at the same timeand an informal book club of two was. This book is a passionate, purposeful and elegant guide to human existence.
Months later, she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer. From will schwalbe, author of the end of your life book club. Dec 24, 2011 were all in the end of our life book club, because none of us knows which book or conversation will be the last. This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a book club that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Will schwalbes the end of your life book club is a moving testament to the joyand the powerof reading books with a loved one. The official website for will schwalbe, author of books for living, the end of your life book club, and send.
A list of the books discussed in will scwalbes biography memoir about the two person book club he and his mother enjoyed the last two years of her life. The end of your life book club is book editor will schwalbes account of the two years he and his mother, mary anne schwalbe, college administrator and refugee activist, struggled with the. Mary anne and will have given us an exquisite gift. To pass the time, they would talk about the books they were reading. The end of your life book club will schwalbe, 2012 knopf doubleday 352 pp. Books provided an avenue for the author and his mother to explore important topics that made them uneasy. Although none of us like to think about the inevitable death of a loved one or our own, we know those times are going to come. Ive always vouched for the therapeutic power that books hold, and this book, the end of your life book club by. Goodreads members who liked the end of your life book club. Buy the end of your life book club hardback by will schwalbe isbn.
It feels like theres been an outpouring of books on end of life recentlyboomers who have lost their parents are both the writers and the readers. As schwalbe points out, the name was appropriate not just because his mother was dying, but because any book could be your last. The end of your life book club paperback large print, jul 6 20. I have not experienced walking with someone through a terminal illness. The end of your lilfe book club a book about a dying woman could be extremely melancholy and i will admit to having teary eyes at various points in this book. An entertainment weekly and bookpage best book of the yearduring her treatment for cancer, mary anne schwalbe and her son will spent many hours sitting in waiting rooms together.
He has also worked in digital media, and was the founder of. Tissues at the ready, i braced myself for the end of your life book club, will schwalbes memoir of his mothers death from pancreatic cancer. Mitch albom, author of tuesdays with morrie a true meditation on what books can do. All gone and the end of your life book club the new york times. Mary ann, wills mother, is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in her early seventies. The end of your life book club quotes showing of 253 one of the many things i love about bound books is their sheer physicality. A celebration of reading and an exploration of the way that specific books can help guide us through our daily lives. A list of the books discussed in will scwalbes biography memoir about the two person book club he and his mother enjoyed the last two years.
A wonderful book about wonderful books and mothers and sons and the enduring braid between them. In 2007, mary anne returned from a humanitarian trip suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. The end of your life book club book johnson county. The end of your life book club by by will schwalbe. The end of your life book club by will schwalbe the. Schwalbes personal top 40 and a love letter to all books. Pulitzer prize winning author of cleopatra a perfect book club book about books and the community they create that also portrays the love between mother and son. The end of your life book club by will schwalbe goodreads. Reading books for living i really felt like i was encountering a number of old beloved friends and meeting some potential new ones. The end of your life book club quotes by will schwalbe.
Putting your priorities first at life s end by barbara. Through their wideranging reading, will and mary anneand we, their fellow readersare reminded how books can be comforting, astonishing, and illuminating, changing the way that we feel about and interact with the world around us. Conversely, the best parts of schwalbes memoir are those that it would not have pleased his mother to read. Copy and paste the html below edit the height variable to fit your site. Will schwalbes the end of your life book club is a moving testament to the joy and the powerof reading books with a loved one. The author, will schwalbe, tells the story of his mothers battle with terminal cancer and her end of life journey with books. The author and his mother bond over books as she faces death from pancreatic cancer at age 73. Over the next two years, will and mary anne carry on conversations that are both wideranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion for reading. A solid effort at compiling a list of every book and author discussed or even mentioned in passing in the end of your life book club by will schwalbe.
The end of your life book club is several books in one. A profoundly moving memoir of caregiving, mourning, and lovethe end of your life book club is also about the joy of reading, and the ways that joy is multiplied when we share it with others. Louisa may alcott, little women dante alighieri, purgatorio w. While we can take pride in them seeing that battle, its also a struggle to see them in that state. Subscribe to the oprahs book club newsletter sign up for the oprahs book club newsletter get more stories like this delivered to your inbox get updates on your favorite shows, the latest from. The end of your life book club, which described schwalbes relationship with his mother through books before her passing, was published by knopf in 2012, and spent more than four months on the new york times bestseller list. Find books like the end of your life book club from the worlds largest community of readers. The end of your life book club book the seattle public. The end of your life book club discussed books 110 books. The end of your life book club kindle edition by schwalbe, will. Were all in the end ofour life book club, whether we acknowledge it or not. How has reading books served a similar function for you. Library journal will schwalbes brave and soulful elegy to his remarkable mother, his recollection of. An entertainment weekly and bookpage best book of the year.
They way in which this mother and son chose to deal with the. The end of your life book club was not only well written but thought provoking in many ways. The end of your life book club begins like a memoir about cancer, but fairly quickly, it lets you in on the fact that this is really a story about a remarkable life. Buy the end of your life book club by schwalbe, will isbn. Thats the question will schwalbe asks his mother, mary anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the memorial sloankettering cancer center. Yet, this book is so much more, it is a celebration of a life that was lived well, a life that helped other people, the love of a son for his mother and a love of books, stories and the. The end of your life book club details the final two years of mary ann schwalbe, who died after battling metastatic pancreatic cancer.