
All Gone
A Memoir of My Mother's Dementia. With Refreshments
Alex Witchel(Author)
Riverhead Books,U.S. (Publisher)
Published on 1. October 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-1-59463-185-6 (ISBN)
Description
"Haunting, unflinching and at times unexpectedly hilarious…A powerful affirmation of family bonds." -The New York Times Book Review
A daughter's longing love letter to a mother who has slipped beyond reach.
Just past seventy, Alex Witchel's smart, adoring, ultracapable mother began to exhibit undeniable signs of dementia. Her smart, adoring, ultracapable daughter reacted as she'd been raised: If something was broken, they would fix it. But as medical reality undid that hope, and her mother continued the torturous process of disappearing in plain sight, Witchel retreated to the kitchen, trying to reclaim her mother at the stove by cooking the comforting foods of her childhood: "Is there any contract tighter than a family recipe?"
Reproducing the perfect meat loaf was no panacea, but it helped Witchel come to terms with her predicament, the growing phenomenon of "ambiguous loss" - loss of a beloved one who lives on. Gradually she developed a deeper appreciation for all the ways the parent she was losing lived on in her, starting with the daily commandment "Tell me everything that happened today" that started a future reporter and writer on her way. And she was inspired to turn her experience into this frank, bittersweet, and surprisingly funny account that offers true balm for an increasingly familiar form of heartbreak.
A daughter's longing love letter to a mother who has slipped beyond reach.
Just past seventy, Alex Witchel's smart, adoring, ultracapable mother began to exhibit undeniable signs of dementia. Her smart, adoring, ultracapable daughter reacted as she'd been raised: If something was broken, they would fix it. But as medical reality undid that hope, and her mother continued the torturous process of disappearing in plain sight, Witchel retreated to the kitchen, trying to reclaim her mother at the stove by cooking the comforting foods of her childhood: "Is there any contract tighter than a family recipe?"
Reproducing the perfect meat loaf was no panacea, but it helped Witchel come to terms with her predicament, the growing phenomenon of "ambiguous loss" - loss of a beloved one who lives on. Gradually she developed a deeper appreciation for all the ways the parent she was losing lived on in her, starting with the daily commandment "Tell me everything that happened today" that started a future reporter and writer on her way. And she was inspired to turn her experience into this frank, bittersweet, and surprisingly funny account that offers true balm for an increasingly familiar form of heartbreak.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Penguin Putnam Inc
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
313 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-59463-185-6 (9781594631856)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2012
Riverhead Books
€5.49
Available for download
Person
Alex Witchel