A long and often
difficult book to read, although I found it hard to put down. Eileen Tumulty is a first generation
Irish-American. Having become the
caretaker for both her alcoholic parents, she goes into nursing as an obvious career
choice. She is anxious to make something
of her life so when she meets a handsome and brilliant research scientist
through a friend, she falls in love with both him and the opportunities such a
match may bring. After their son Connell
is born, she is determined to leave the three family house, located in a
demographically changing neighborhood in Queens, which she has inherited from
her parents. Her husband Ed seems oddly
resistant to moving from the familiar area, but she perseveres and they buy a
house that needs enormous amounts of renovation but which is in the upscale
neighborhood she so wishes to live in.
Unfortunately, Ed’s resistance to change is the first real symptom of a
much deeper problem. As Ed descends into
early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, Eileen struggles to care for him, make
necessary repairs to the home, and deal with an adolescent son who finds it
difficult to impossible to be around his beloved father as he changes beyond
recognition. For anyone with even a
passing acquaintance with dealing with being a caretaker for a family member,
it will ring heartbreakingly true. We
root for Eileen, desperately shoring up a normal life against all odds. 620 pp.
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