Gift of Time
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Product Description
Book Description
An heartbreakingly honest and deeply moving memoir in the words of the son, his wife and his mother of her battle with cancer, from one of the UK's best loved travel writers.
Product Description
When his mother Joan was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Rory MacLean and his wife Katrin took her into their home. For five months, as their life fragmented and turned inward, they fought both to resist and to accept the inevitable. Each gave vent to their emotions in different ways, but all three kept a diary. Heartbreakingly honest and deeply moving, Gift of Time is the story of those days, in the words of a son, his wife and his mother. Woven together into a poignant meditation on life and death, they illuminate the courage and dignity of one woman who confronted what we all must face. Threaded through with wisdom and guilt, anger and acceptance, the story is punctuated by a family wedding and the hope of new life, by bin-bags of old letters and books rediscovered, by the end of winter and the first signs of spring. Powerful, raw and urgent, this slender volume is above all a celebration of life. Capturing every moment of beauty and pain it acknowledges that what survives all of us is love. Praise for Rory MacLean's previous titles: Stalin's Nose: 'The most extraordinary debut in travel writing since In Patagonia. A dark, sardonic and brilliant book which grows in stature with every page' William Dalrymple 'A surreal masterpiece' Colin Thubron The Oatmeal Ark: 'One of the most original and innovative travel books for years.' Alexander Frater 'A truly astonishing performance' Jan Morris 'Such a book as this rather marvellously explains why literature still lives.' John Fowles Under the Dragon: 'I cannot imagine a better book on the beauty and terror of Burma. Read it. Read it. Read it.' Fergal Keane 'It will make you cry and it will give you hope. ... It is astonishingly good.' Jeanette Winterson. Magic Bus: 'A disturbing, gripping and intensely passionate story' Esther Freud.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When Rory MacLean's mother, Joan, is diagnosed with a terminal cancer, he and his wife, Katrin, unhesitatingly take the ailing woman into their home in an effort to make her last remaining weeks as comfortable as possible. Each keeps a diary of their experiences, the results of which are collated into this incredibly moving book.
Told with humour, grace and searing honesty, Rory, Katrin and Joan lay bare their innermost emotions as they come to terms with this dreaded disease - to the extent that the reader sometimes feels like a voyeuristic intruder, blithely eavesdropping on their most private of thoughts.
However, the benefit of this intensely personal, warts-and-all account is that it throws into harsh relief the devastating effects of cancer on the sufferer, while also giving unique insight into often-overlooked plight of those left behind to pick up the pieces - the family, the friends and the carers. Cancer, it seems, is all-consuming - and in more ways than one.
It cannot be denied that parts of this book are uncomfortable to read - it is, after all, a chronicle of death. It forces the reader to confront the one basic truth that we spend so much time trying to ignore - the fact death is an inevitable and inescapable part of the human condition. However, despite this, the book is strangely life-affirming - in acknowledging death, it also succeeds in celebrating life ... and the indomitability of the human spirit.
A truly remarkable book -'Gift of Time' should be essential reading for mortals everywhere.
Told with humour, grace and searing honesty, Rory, Katrin and Joan lay bare their innermost emotions as they come to terms with this dreaded disease - to the extent that the reader sometimes feels like a voyeuristic intruder, blithely eavesdropping on their most private of thoughts.
However, the benefit of this intensely personal, warts-and-all account is that it throws into harsh relief the devastating effects of cancer on the sufferer, while also giving unique insight into often-overlooked plight of those left behind to pick up the pieces - the family, the friends and the carers. Cancer, it seems, is all-consuming - and in more ways than one.
It cannot be denied that parts of this book are uncomfortable to read - it is, after all, a chronicle of death. It forces the reader to confront the one basic truth that we spend so much time trying to ignore - the fact death is an inevitable and inescapable part of the human condition. However, despite this, the book is strangely life-affirming - in acknowledging death, it also succeeds in celebrating life ... and the indomitability of the human spirit.
A truly remarkable book -'Gift of Time' should be essential reading for mortals everywhere.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Beautiful, poignant and raw in uncompromising, unapologetic honesty. I read the first 3/4 so quickly; I could not put it down, but then found it hard to carry on. I knew what must happen, but reading it would make it true. I felt I lived through this time with Rory & Katrin and while my heart broke, my soul was uplifted and I was inspired. Everyone who has lost someone will relate to this book. Anyone losing someone will find solace. It gave me a new perspective on the tragic loss of my Mother-in-Law, for once being thankful for her lack of prolonged suffering, shifting my focus away from regrets.
Amazingly honest. Beautiful! I cannot imagine a better tribute.
Diane Venter
Amazingly honest. Beautiful! I cannot imagine a better tribute.
Diane Venter
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The diaries of Rory MacLean, his wife Katrin and mother Joan are brought together to tenderly recall the final months of Joan's life, as she lives with the end stages of cancer. She is strong and fearless, stoic as many of her generation, unwilling to be a burden to her family. Rory and Katrin's entries tell of the daily highs and lows, the moments of frustration, joy and even laughter shared by the three. I enjoyed this book very much, and found it uplifting and hopeful, proving that it is possible to have a good death, and it is possible to survive the passing of a loved one. Having the time say good-bye to someone we love is a gift indeed.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
This has helped me on a deeply personal level
When I discovered this book I purchased it hoping that it would help me face up to many of the issues that I still need to work through myself. Read more
Published 4 months ago by D. Jones
Precious moments from three perspectives
Gift of Time is a brave, and ultimately inspiring book.
When Rory Maclean's mother, Joan, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he decided, with his wife Katrin, that she should... Read more
When Rory Maclean's mother, Joan, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he decided, with his wife Katrin, that she should... Read more
Published 9 months ago by robartist1
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