Saturday 22 August 2009

Book Week

To coincide with Book Week in Australia, I hereby declare it to be Book Week in the Land of Meg as well.

I hold my parents accountable for my love of books, my mother especially. Not only is she a voracious reader of words, but a writer of them as well.

Her book about her mother's dementia, Alzheimer's: A Love Story, is due to be released in October. Her mother, my grandmother, was also a great lover of words, and one of the hardest things for her was to lose her grip on her language, something I think the cover evokes beautifully.
From the publisher's website:
When the last of Vivienne Ulman’s four children left home, she and her husband were poised to enjoy their freedom. Then her mother’s Alzheimer’s intervened.

In Alzheimer’s: a love story, Vivienne records with tender lyricism and searing honesty the progress of her mother’s Alzheimer’s, her own grief over the gradual loss of her beloved mother, and the way in which her parents’ enduring love for each other sustained them.

Into this she weaves an account of her family’s history, in particular her father’s rise from farm boy to confidant of prime ministers — achievements made possible by the loving strength of the woman by his side. In a reversal of roles, he now amply returns this support.

This inspiring Australian story is a tale for the sandwich generation, squeezed on one side by concerns for their children and on the other by anxiety about their parents. It is about illness, grief, and hardship, but it is also about love, determination, and joy.
I'm so proud of you, Mum. Happy book! And happy Book Week!

7 comments:

Shokoofeh said...

wow it's great! :)

and thank you for your beautiful natural advice! it's so exciting Meg!



xo

farmdoc said...

Hear Hear!
I'm proud of you too, Writerbee. xx

Leonie Guld said...

Wow.....What a gift to hand down to generation after generation. In my family they tend to belong to the "silent order!" no one talks about any of the hard stuff, particularly in our case, suicide. It fantastic that your family is comfortable in sharing the story of a loved one suffering from dementia. I bet its told with dignity, pride and compassion. Congratulations to your mum, that would be one hard book to write.

Emily Stanton said...

hi! i didn't even know that it was book week!!! i've just started a blog of book reviews - please check it out if you have the time. i'm very new at this blogging thing so would appreciate all feedback and suggestions!

the address is: www.bookwormfromoz.weebly.com

that book looks amazing, i think i might have to get my hands on a copy. my grandma also had alzhiemers and died when i was about 15 years old, after being very sick for many years. it was particularly hard to understand what was going on with her when i was a bit younger, and even harder for my younger brother.

i'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the book in my local bookshops!

Em.

WriterBee said...

Not as proud as I am of you, Meg. I look forward to Book Week on your blog.

Glen Dunn said...

That is an fantastic cover graphic. Absolutely beautiful.

Jasmine said...

Well that explains why you are such an amazing lady Meg! And congratulations Megs mama!