All Gone: A Memoir of My Mother's Dementia. With Refreshments
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.80 (924 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 159448791X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 224 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-08-01 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
The author of three previous books, she has also written for New York, Vogue, Elle, and Ladies’ Home Journal, among other publications. She lives in New York with her husband, Frank Rich. Alex Witchel is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and originated the popular “Feed Me” column for the Dining secti
She shows us that despite profound loss, we can nourish ourselves with memories that sustain love and give comfort. And what a parent! …My mother, like Alex’s, cooked the day’s meals not for pleasure or adventure but as an unromantic responsibility that maintained stable, loving order in our small bit of the cosmos. My mom embodies so much: family, traditions, home. I worry about how I’ll cope when she passes away someday. With their invocations of old-time staples like Del Monte tomato sauce and Lawry’s seasoned salt, they’re humble reminders of the many small acts of care that hold a family together. This book was a comfort, reminding me that nothing can ever rob me of her love." –Real Simple "Witchel's recipes are simple family classics. I loved reading it!” –Ina Garten. I read “All
A daughter’s longing love letter to a mother who has slipped beyond reach.Just past seventy, Alex Witchel’s smart, adoring, ultracapable mother began to exhibit undeniable signs of dementia. But as medical reality undid that hope, and her mother continued the torturous process of disappearing in plain sight, Witchel retreated to the kitchen, trying to reclaim her mother at the stove by cooking the comforting foods of her childhood: “Is there any contract tighter than a family recipe?” Reproducing the perfect meat loaf was no panacea, but it helped Witchel come to terms with her predicament, the growing phenomenon of “ambiguous loss ”— loss of a beloved one who lives on. Gradually she developed a deeper appreciation for all the ways the parent she
"Comfort Food" according to N. C. Moore. Alex Witchel has provided us with a memoir that celebrates the joys of life, grieves its sorrows, and then fills the sorrowful stomach with food. Part cookbook, part love story, this unlikely combination brings a unique type of memoir to the bookshelves and its arrival is welcome.This is the story of a daughter who watched helplessly as her sharp-minded professor-mother lost her edge and began "disappearing in plain sight" at the hands of dementia. After a prescription for Xanax is abandoned, former a New York Time's food columnist, turns to the kitchen instead to cope with her grief. Since the author had the foresight to . Beautiful, touching memoir. I have been on quite a memoir kick as of late. Each has been better than the last and thankfully, All Gone followed that pattern as well.In All Gone, author Alex Witchel recounts her mother's battle with dementia. With refreshments, of course. The book begins with how Ms. Witchel copes by cooking her mother's recipes, using food as a way to bridge the gap between who her mother was and is becoming. Each chapter ends with a difference recipe from Alex's collection, recipes formed not only in food but memories. All Gone is packed with sentiment. She portrayers her dilemma with heartbreaking truthfulness. As a reader, I felt . Laura said Less about her mothers dementia and more about her personal accomplishments in her career. It takes a lot for me to write a negative review- with that said consider this a negative review. This book, which was marketed as a memoir of a woman who was dealing with her mothers dementia was more about her writing career with a hint of dementia on her mothers part. There were cute recipes, which went along with memories of childhood, but this book did NOT deliver what is was marketed as. I truly expected more from a writer who is employed by the Times.