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Imperfect Endings: A Daughter's Tale Of Life And Death (2010)

by Zoe FitzGerald Carter(Favorite Author)

3.41 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1439148244 (ISBN13: 9781439148242)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Simon & Schuster

review 1: This memoir is Zoe FitzGerald Carter's story of her mother's decision to end her life after a long decline with Parkinson's disease. Carter, a mother of 2 young children living on the west coast has to juggle the logistics of helping her mother through this difficult ordeal in Washington DC as well as the emotional roller coaster of having a mother who no longer wants to live. Although the subject matter was very interesting and I appreciate how difficult it must have been for Carter to bare her emotions in this book, I found it difficult to relate to (or even like) Carter's mother. The mother waffles on her decision of when she should end her life as well as the method. In flashbacks of Carter's childhood, her mother comes across as self-absorbed and this behavior sta... moreys with her in her plans for suicide. I did find parts of this book to be very touching, but lacking in the spirituality and closure I was hoping for with this book.
review 2: All family dynamics are different, and outsiders can never truly understand the workings of anyone else's family. Zoe certainly had a lot to deal with here, and I can only hope that I would be able to handle the same situation with the same grace and patience. There were several times, as I read her story, that I would like to have had a little talk with her mother and tell her to stop and give her children a little consideration and respect. But, that's why I tried to keep in mind that the inner workings of every family are unique to that family. Having said all that, I thought this book addressed a very sensitive subject in a wonderfully open and direct manner, and certainly did cause me to assess some of my own feelings about how I would like to die if my circumstances were similar. I never really understood the need for "assisted suicide", wondering why any help would be needed, so there were some eye openers for me in the book. Overall, I am glad that I read the book, and I don't think that I will forget it if there comes a time when I am faced with possibly making the same hard decision for myself, or supporting a loved one if that need arose for me. less

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