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The End of Your Life Book Club

by Schwalbe, Will
The End of Your Life Book Club

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ISBN13: 9780307594037
ISBN10: 0307594033
Condition: Standard
DustJacket: Standard

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Awards

Staff Top 5s 2012 2012 Powell's Staff Top 5s

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

"What are you reading?"

That's the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less.

This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a "book club" that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Over the next two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion for reading. Their list jumps from classic to popular, from poetry to mysteries, from fantastic to spiritual. The issues they discuss include questions of faith and courage as well as everyday topics such as expressing gratitude and learning to listen. Throughout, they are constantly reminded of the power of books to comfort us, astonish us, teach us, and tell us what we need to do with our lives and in the world. Reading isn't the opposite of doing; it's the opposite of dying.

Will and Mary Anne share their hopes and concerns with each other — and rediscover their lives — through their favorite books. When they read, they aren't a sick person and a well person, but a mother and a son taking a journey together. The result is a profoundly moving tale of loss that is also a joyful, and often humorous, celebration of life: Will's love letter to his mother, and theirs to the printed page.

Review

"A wonderful book about wonderful books and mothers and sons and the enduring braid between them. Like the printed volumes it celebrates, this story will stay with you long after the last page." Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Time Keeper

Review

"Will Schwalbe's lyrical tribute to a life well-lived and a death graced with love and literature is a precious gift bestowed on all of us. What a unique and beautiful book this is, and how privileged we are to have it." Sherwin B. Nuland, author of The Art of Aging and How We Die

Review

"Will Schwalbe's brave and soulful elegy to his remarkable mother, his recollection of their sparklingly literate conversations, is a timely reminder that one exceptional person, or one exceptional book, can be a torch in the darkness. You'll turn the last page wishing you'd met Mary Anne Schwalbe, vowing to be worthy of her incandescent example — and promising yourself to read more." J.R. Moehringer, author of The Tender Bar

Review

"Will Schwalbe gives us two love stories in one: that of his relationship with his dynamo of a mother as her horizons shrink, and that of their mutual devotion to the printed word, infinitely and insistently engaging. Tender and touching and beautifully done." Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra

Review

"I was so moved by this marvelous book. Schwalbe has done something extraordinary: made a personal journey public in the most engaging, funny and revealing way possible. It is a true meditation on what books can do." Edmund de Waal, author of The Hare with the Amber Eyes

Review

"In a heartfelt tribute to his mother, Schwalbe illustrates the power of the written word to expand our knowledge of ourselves and others." Kirkus Reviews

Review

"At last a book that celebrates the role books play within our own story. Will Schwalbe has created a tender, moving and honest portrayal of the precious relationship between a mother and son — an ode to that beautiful thing called love." Cecelia Ahern, author of PS, I Love You

Review

"This book is a passionate, purposeful and elegant guide to human existence. Living life, learning life and loving life. And ultimately, accepting life's end. Mary Anne and Will have given us an exquisite gift. For a better life, better family and better world, read this moving elegy from a gifted and loving son to an extraordinary mother" David Rohde, co-author of A Rope and a Prayer

Review

"An extraordinarily wise, witty, and quietly wrenching book about parental love, filial love, profound grief, and literature's great consolations. How wonderful to encounter a writer who combines erudition with great emotional honesty, and who isn't afraid of addressing life's most profound and baffling questions." Douglas Kennedy, A Woman in the Fifth

Review

"This touching and insightful memoir [will] appeal to readers of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Last Lecture, but also to people who love delving into books and book discussions....While it is a story about death, it is mostly a celebration of life and of the way books can enrich it." Booklist (starred)

Synopsis

The inspiring story of a young man and his dying mother forming a "book club" that brings them closer as her life comes to a close — a testament to the power of love between a child and parent, and the power of reading in our lives.

Mary Anne Schwalbe was an educator who worked at Harvard University and the Dalton School in New York, and spent ten years building libraries in Afghanistan. But her story here begins at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where, accompanied by her son, she is waiting for chemotherapy treatments to begin. Will casually asks her what she's been reading, and the conversation they have grows into tradition: soon they are reading the same books in order to talk about them as Mary Anne is given her treatments. The books they read range from classic to popular, from fantastic to spiritual, and we hear their passion for reading and their love for each other in their dynamic and searching discussions around each one. A profoundly moving book: Will's love letter to his mother, and theirs to the printed page.

Synopsis

The inspiring story of a son and his dying mother, who form a "book club" that brings them together as her life comes to a close.

Mary Anne Schwalbe is waiting for her chemotherapy treatments when Will casually asks her what she's reading. The conversation they have grows into tradition: soon they are reading the same books so they can have something to talk about in the hospital waiting room. The ones they choose range from classic to popular, from fantastic to spiritual, and we hear their passion for reading and their love for each other in their intimate and searching discussions.

A profoundly moving testament to the power of love between a child and parent, and the power of reading in our lives.


About the Author

Will Schwalbe has worked in publishing (most recently as senior vice president and editor in chief of Hyperion Books); digital media, as the founder and CEO of Cookstr.com; and as a journalist, writing for various publications including The New York Times and the South China Morning Post. He is on the boards of Yale University Press and the Kingsborough Community College Foundation. He is the coauthor, with David Shipley, of Send: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better.

Reading Group Guide

The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading group’s discussion of The End of Your Life Book Club, the poignant, funny, and deeply moving memoir by Will Schwalbe.

1. Does this book have a central theme? What is it?

2. Why does Mary Anne always read a book’s ending first? How does this reflect her character?

3. Early in the book, Will writes, “I wanted to learn more about my mother’s life and the choices she’d made, so I often steered the conversation there. She had an agenda of her own, as she almost always did. It took me some time, and some help, to figure it out.” (page 6) What was Mary Anne’s agenda?

4. Mary Anne underlined a passage in Seventy Verses on Emptiness, which resonated with Will: “Permanent is not; impermanent is not; a self is not; not a self [is not]; clean is not; not clean is not; happy is not; suffering is not.” Why did this strike both of them as significant? What do you think it means?

5. Throughout the book, Will talks about books as symbols and sources of hope. How has reading books served a similar function for you?

6. While reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, Will and Mary Anne discuss three kinds of fateful choices: “the ones characters make knowing that they can never be undone; the ones they make thinking they can but learn they can’t; and the ones they make thinking they can’t and only later come to understand, when it’s too late, when ‘nothing can be undone,’ that they could have.” (page 41) What kind of choices did Mary Anne make during her cancer treatment? Did she or Will make any of the third type?

7. Mary Anne especially liked a passage from Gilead by Marilynne Robinson: “When you encounter another person, when you have dealings with anyone at all, it is as if a question is being put to you. So you must think, What is the Lord asking of me in this moment, in this situation?” (page 96) Why do you think this moved her so much? What did it mean to Will?

8. How does religious belief help Mary Anne? How do you think it might have helped Will?

9. Mary Anne doesn’t believe her travels to war-torn countries were brave: “I wanted to go to all those places, so how could that be brave? The people I’m talking about, they did things they didn’t want to do because they felt they had to, or because they thought it was the right thing to do.” (page 167) In what ways is Mary Anne brave during her cancer treatments? Does she ever come to think of herself as brave?

10. Will is amazed by his mother’s ability to continue her efforts to fund the library in Afghanistan even while facing a death sentence, until he realizes that “she used her emotions to motivate her and help her concentrate. The emphasis for her was always on doing what needed to be done. I had to learn this lesson while she was still there to teach me.” (page 194) Did Will learn? What makes you think so?

11. Why did Mary Anne become so intent on certain things happening: Obama’s election, David Rohde’s safe return? Will talks about his own “magical thinking” several times in the book—what form do you think Mary Anne’s took?

12. “We’re all in the end-of-our-life book club, whether we acknowledge it or not; each book we read may well be the last, each conversation the final one.” (page 281) How did this realization affect Will’s final days with his mom?

13. After she dies, Will looks at Mary Anne’s copy of Daily Strength for Daily Needs, next to the bed. He believes this quote from John Ruskin was the last thing his mother ever read: “If you do not wish for His kingdom, don’t pray for it. But if you do, you must do more than pray for it; you must work for it.” (page 321) How did Mary Anne work for it throughout her life? Do you think Will found solace in this passage?

14. Several times in the book, Will talks about eBooks versus their physical counterparts. Why does he prefer one to the other? Does Mary Anne agree? If you read this book on an eReader, how do you think it affected your experience?

15. Which of the books discussed by Will and Mary Anne have you read? Which do you most want to read?


4.8 13

What Our Readers Are Saying

Share your thoughts on this title!
Average customer rating 4.8 (13 comments)

`
Susan Prochaska , January 30, 2013
A celebration of life, literature and love. What can you say when there's nothing to say? "What are your reading?" Not only is this book a wealth of magnificent recommendations it' a validation of the value of fiction as a vehicle for truth.

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lbeck , January 30, 2013
A beautiful (and funny!) memoir about books -- and about the author's amazing mother, Mary -- how she loved her work and her family, and how she valued reading, conversing, listening. "Reading isn't the opposite of doing," Will says. "It's the opposite of dying." Not a happy-ever-after memoir; rather, a true story which is frank and funny and lasting.

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`
Laurie Blum , January 30, 2013 (view all comments by Laurie Blum)
As I am a voracious reader myself & have a dedicated adult son, I reacted very emotionally to Will Schwalbe's "The End of Your Life Book Club" and can highly recommend this book to one and all!

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ktquin , January 22, 2013
The heart rending true story of a generous heroic woman, a mother and her son who share a relationship enriched by their love of books.In the face of her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, they find a way through reading and sharing an abundant array of literature to confront the inevitable and share their hard earned wisdom with the reader.

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b1mylissa , January 12, 2013
I admire the man Will Schwalbe, who wrote this book. His sensitivity and realization of how he valued the time he had with his Mother was moving. I enjoyed reading about their relationship. What a wonderful way to enjoy the remaining time they had together.

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sansam , January 02, 2013 (view all comments by sansam)
This was so poignant and powerful!

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slpsolutions , January 01, 2013
Best book I've read in a decade...all book lovers should read it...I will come back to it again and again!!

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Joan Vigliotta , January 01, 2013
Profoundly moving, delightfully life-affirming, absolutely life-changing!

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Laurie Blum , January 01, 2013 (view all comments by Laurie Blum)
As an avid reader myself plus the parent of a loving, dedicated adult son, I could identify with the story line of "The End of Your Life Book Club" distinctly which was written so creatively! Bravo to author, Will Schwalbe & the beautiful tribute to his mother - five big stars *****

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Jeffrey Gross , January 01, 2013
"The End of your Life Book Club" deals with the relationship between a son and his dying mother. This work is an extraordinary true account of a mother and son developing a book club together as means of survival - both for themselves and each other. It is a testament to Mr. Schwalbe that he conveys that reading is a means of living, not dying even when facing death. This is an amazing read for anyone that loves books and understands the meaning of family. You will want to hug your family a bit closer and read many books after reading "The End of Your Life Book Club."

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Brown Dog , January 01, 2013
This book had the best of everything - insight into a life well lived and well loved by family, friends, students, colleagues - but mainly by the person living it. Furthermore, it provided a rare and deep view into death. There is no greater gift than the love of books and the willingness to share them with those we love. I feel so privileged to be a participant in this journey. Amazing courage and gracious insights for us all.

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Lynn Lesperance , December 28, 2012 (view all comments by Lynn Lesperance)
A well-written memoir of the last two years the author, Will Schwalbe spent with his mother as she died of pancreatic cancer. More about the mother than the books but still an engaging read.

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Leighkidd , December 01, 2012
I am ordering the book - i haven't read it. I happened on your site this morning and was captured by the title of this book and the associated book club. It reminds me of a story i have tried many times to put on paper about someone who touched my life. There is an interlude in the story when "in her dying days he read the books to her - a lifetime accumulation of intended reading delivered to her by her dearest friend." If only each of us was a recipient of such a gift. I am looking forward to reading the book.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780307594037
Binding:
Hardcover
Publication date:
10/02/2012
Publisher:
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE
Pages:
352
Height:
1.40IN
Width:
5.80IN
Thickness:
1.50
Copyright Year:
2012
Author:
Will Schwalbe
Author:
Will Schwalbe
Media Run Time:
B

Ships free on qualified orders.
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List Price:$25.00
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1Cedar Hills

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