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Book Reviewed by:With honesty and true understanding, Sally Hepworth pens this poignant story of one of today's nightmares: early-onset Alzheimer's.
Anna Forster, in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease at only thirty-eight years old, knows that her family is doing what they believe to be best when they take her to Rosalind House, an assisted living facility. She also knows there's just one other resident her age, Luke. What she does not expect is the love that blossoms between her and Luke even as she resists her new life at Rosalind House. As her disease steals more and more of her memory, Anna fights to hold on to what she knows, including her relationship with Luke.
When Eve Bennett is suddenly thrust into the role of single mother she finds herself putting her culinary training to use at Rosalind house. When she meets Anna and Luke she is moved by the bond the pair has forged. But when a tragic incident leads Anna's and Luke's families to separate them, Eve finds herself questioning what she is willing to risk to help them.
It's been a while since I've read something that I don't want to end. Great story about love, grief, and what we are willing to risk for others (Michele N.) Hepworth writes with compassion and understanding of the impact of this cruel disease on all who know and love the patients (Helen S.)..continued
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(Reviewed by First Impressions Reviewers).
"Dementia in its varied forms is not like cancer, [which is] an invader. But Alzheimer's is me, unwinding, losing trust in myself, a butt of my own jokes and on bad days capable of playing hunt the slipper by myself and losing. You can't battle it, you can't be a plucky "survivor". It steals you from yourself."
This is author Terry Prachett, in a 2008 article for the Alzheimer's Society (reprinted by The Guardian in 2015). Pratchett wrote this shortly after he was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy or PCA (which depending on which specialist you talk to is either a form of Alzheimer's or closely related to it). It causes a deterioration of memory, plus a loss of visual acuity, but allows for retention of fluency and...
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If you liked The Things We Keep, try these:
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David and Kate are happily married fifty-somethings when she's diagnosed with early Alzheimer's. He has never been unfaithful, but after several years of losing Kate more each day, he wonders: What is a married widower supposed to do? Two strong-willed women intervene and everyone finds themselves making unexpected choices.
Marilyn Dahl, Editor, Shelf Awareness for Readers
Sally Hepworth deftly covers a lot of ground with The Things We Keep - bullying, Alzheimer's, elder care, romantic and parental love-with insight, compassion and wit. How I loved the characters ... I devoured this book.
