I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. Judging from the publisher description, it isn’t exactly my usual kind of read. But something about the blurb reached me, so I picked it up.
And I am so very glad that I did.
This was an amazing story about the everyday pressures that face a family coupled with the stress of an incapacitated family member. It is a skillfully told tale that had me laughing and crying throughout.
I thought the author did an amazing job of detailing each family member’s situation. The chapters were written from four different points of view in no particular order or pattern. But it was never confusing.
This method gave the reader an entirely holistic picture of the family situation, which was more complete than if it had been only from one person’s perspective. This helped lend authenticity to the whole situation.
Moreover, it gave perspective into the lives of the three family members who had to deal with the situation at hand. And that is the crux of everything in the book.
Patience is by far the most unique character I have read in recent memory. I absolutely loved how she had a voice…even when she didn’t. That makes even more sense if you read the book. Her sense of humor also came through.
What struck me, however, is how easy it is to forget that people who can’t outwardly communicate can still have feelings and opinions. They just can’t get them from their brain to the outside world.
I thought about this a lot while reading because my father was ill for many years with a Parkinson’s-related disease. When he was robbed of his speech, I could still see in his eyes that he had more to say…he just couldn’t say it.
I think about the number of times my mom and I discussed things around him. We were always careful about what we discussed because we knew he could hear us. But after reading this book, I look back and wonder what he was thinking at those times.
Did he have an opinion that he wished he could share? Did he want to say something? Would he have made different choices than those that were made for him?
This is going to haunt me for a while, I think.
In light of this perspective in the book, I found it fitting that some complications stemmed from the simplest of issues. But Patience couldn’t express that. Very interesting, indeed.
I thought that the author was a little heavy on Louise’s martyrdom as it got to be a bit much. But I also understood why she was written that way. I did think that the way the individual stories were wrapped up was effective, as there were unanswered questions right up to the very last pages.
It was obvious that this was a personal story because the emotions and events were told with such care that they couldn’t be anything but real. And that authenticity is what gave the story its heart.
I highly recommend this book. One of my top reads of the year.
