The Summer of the Great-Grandmother

Short Review: The Summer of the Great Grandmother is L'Engle's reflections on her mother as she is dying, and the family that has already passed away. The dementia and loss of capacity is sad. Death is often cruel. But death is part of life and reflecting on it I think is helpful to take a full account of our lives.

There is also a lot of back story on L'Engle's own life and growing up with her parents. Her father died when L'Engle was a late teen from injuries that he received during World War I, but didn't actually kill him until nearly 20 years later. She also has a fascinating set of ancestors. L'Engle is right, most of us won't know anything about people that are two or three generations older than us. And that does matter to how we understand life.

This is another Crosswick Journal that is full of wisdom. I am somewhat glad that I didn't discover these until I am the age I am now. I am not sure that I would have appreciated them as much as I do now.

My slightly longer review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/the-summer-of-the-great-grandmother/

Also this is on sale for $0.99 when I am posting (May 19, 2017). The fourth in the series Two Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage is also $0.99 today.