By Elizabeth Berg\u2014<\/b>Random House 2020<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Elizabeth Berg writes with great feeling, offering keen observations of the human condition. In this moving and insightful memoir, she describes the decline of her parents\u2019 happy, 60-year marriage with a bittersweet candor. She chronicles their final years, citing honest exchanges between parents often in denial\u2014and adult children afraid of losing them\u2014that reveal sometimes cringe-worthy behavior from all parties. It\u2019s so <\/span>real<\/span><\/i>. Berg\u2019s parents, both in their late 80s, are coming to terms with a move to a residential care facility. Her father, a career military man, has developed Alzheimer\u2019s\u2014he\u2019s stubborn and confused. Her mother, emotionally exhausted, agrees to the move but takes her uncharacteristic anger out on her husband and daughters. It’s a time fraught with sadness, acceptance of roles reversed and the understanding that there\u2019s no going home again, in any sense of the word. In time, Berg\u2019s parents find their rhythm again and, because of the abiding love in the family, make the best of the time they have left. Any family caregivers could relate to the challenges Berg faced, the frustration and guilt, and feel they are in good company.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In this moving and insightful memoir, Elizabeth Berg describes the decline of her parents\u2019 happy, 60-year marriage with a bittersweet candor. <\/span><\/p>\n