THE LIVING END: A FAMILY MEMOIR OF FORGETTING AND FORGIVING

Book ID/图书代码： 02330011B46263

English Summary/英文概要： “In a wonderfully engaging heart-of-the-matter voice, memoirist Robert Leleux chronicles his chic Texas grandmother’s descent into the gloom of Alzheimer’s. He is circumspect in recording the many indignities the disease brings, and equally faithful to praise the joys of a happy marriage, of good wigs and zinger punch lines. THE LIVING END is funny, quirky and charmingly spun, a hymn of love to both his grandmother and her entire generation of community-minded southern ladies who knew their china and knew their hats, and were, to a young, wide-eyed Robert, the living end. Other family members make faithful appearances: Robert’s grandfather, his husband and mother-in-law, and his larger-than-life mother, who is persuaded to return for a final visit and an unexpected homecoming. Leleux’s writing is as bright and elegant as one of his grandmother’s hats, his love of family and faith in their enduring strength a rare and refreshing thing in these dry, sardonic days of sinking family sagas. The Wilson family takes on water but refuses to sink - even in the dark days of an Ebay addiction - and in the end, love conquers all. Their story is lithe, droll and beautifully told. It scores one for the home team.” – Janis Owens

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 一個原本四分五裂的家庭，因為家族成員罹患阿茲海默症的關係再次聚首…

「即使有一天你的記憶消失忘了我，我還是會這樣牽著你的手慢慢走。」--電影《明日的記憶》
一個原本四分五裂的家庭，因為家族成員罹患阿茲海默症的關係再次聚首，他們是如何用愛填補過去所留下來的缺口？祖母JoAnn是名典型的南方淑女，從她的身上可看見那一代婦女們特有的社會意識。不管是頭上的帽子、身上的衣服、桌上的骨瓷器…過去，她被養成注重一切關於美的事物。現在，面對疾病日益侵蝕，記憶逐漸歸零的情況下，如何慢慢拼湊零碎的記憶，好好告別…是否也能藉此和親人重修舊好呢？(Vincent)

Awards/获奖情况：此书的意大利语版权已售。

A memoir of Alzheimer’s during its final stages and of a family’s attempt to provide support for a spirited grandmother whose changed outlook allowed a vital relationship to move from estrangement to reconciliation.

Leleux (The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy, 2008) presents a slim, dignified portrait of his grandmother JoAnn—a wisecracking yet elegant Southerner with a penchant for entertaining—and his grandfather Alfred, her lifelong advocate, focusing on the brief window after the onset of her dementia. Rather than lingering over potentially negative details that often accompany the illness, such as extreme patient behaviors or caregiver burnout, the author explores the surprisingly merciful gifts that come with losing one’s memory: the ability to forgive and forget, to delight in the everyday and to believe that “anything is possible." Leleux was not, however, “striving for optimism” so much as a healthier perspective on a condition often regarded with foreboding. As the author, his mother and his grandfather accompanied JoAnn on her flights of fancy, the rift between Leleux’s mother and her parents began to heal, and the author discovered the power of self-reflection. Episodic recollections from childhood and a lengthy digression on Leleux’s mother-in-law round out this portrait of living amid decline. The author effectively transitions between JoAnn’s earlier years and moments after her diagnosis. She emerges not only as a beloved figure, but as a larger-than-life character who was eager for the spotlight, funny, gracious, occasionally biting in her assessment of others and altogether inspired.

Leleux sweeps readers from New York to Texas to rural Tennessee on a family pilgrimage—an understated work that highlights the emotional rewards of caring for a loved one.

About the Author/作者介绍： Robert Leleux’s essays and articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country, including the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, and the Utne Reader. He writes the Tex in the City column for the Texas Observer, and the History of Style column for Lonny Magazine, where he is features editor. Mr. Leleux is the author of The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy, and The Living End. He is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and lives in New York City.
Rober Leleux 知名的專欄作家，其文章常出現於各大報章雜誌中。本書為其第二部作品，透過作者幽默風趣的筆調，讓我們在黑暗中看見一絲絲光明。第一部作品為The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy同樣獲得許多好評。目前為莎拉勞倫斯學院的研究生，定居於紐約。

Format:电子手稿

Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE

Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：

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