Mameve Medwed (–2021)

A poignant tale of love and loss, reconciliation, and appreciating what is truly important in life. This is one of those unique stories that is such a joy to read and would make an excellent choice for book club fans – particularly those who enjoy Women’s Fiction. It’s chock full of meaningful, heart-tugging scenes that really make you think – think about how well you really know the hearts and minds of those you love – and about what it really means to forge ahead and not give up.

Annie and Sam operate Annie’s Samwich, a favorite local eatery in a small town in Maine. When Annie receives an unpleasant diagnosis from her local town doctor, she opts not to tell Sam, her husband and childhood sweetheart. Not wanting to mar the time they have left together with burdensome worry and unpleasant medical treatments, but worried about how her Sam will get on in life without her when’s she’s done, Annie sits down and starts writing him a manual called Minus Me: A User’s Guide. But then Annie’s estranged mother Ursula comes to town unexpectedly and suddenly both Annie’s and Sam’s lives are turned upside down.

What was really sweet about this novel is how much Annie and Sam love each other, and how even after a lifetime together, they still had things to learn about one another. If I had one complaint, and it’s a small one, is that the vibe I got off Annie and Sam was more that of folks in their 60’s, rather than their late 30’s, but they are traditional, down home, small town folks, so perhaps they do seem a little quaint. The ending is quite heart warming so when you put it down after that final page, it’s with a smile and sense of contentment. A congratulatory, “I really liked it”, four-star rating, Ms. Medwed – it was a pleasure spending time with your Annie and Sam.

Minus Me is available January 12, 2021 in paperback from Alcove Press, a relatively new imprint of Crooked Lane Books that launched its first offerings in Oct 2020. According to Alcove Press’s website, www.AlcovePress.com, Alcove is dedicated to publishing upmarket book club fiction that explores family, friendship, and community.

As found at mamevemedwed.com, Medwed is the author of six novels, one of which, How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life won the 2007 Massachusetts Book Award Honors in Fiction. Born in Bangor, Maine, where she is considered Bangor’s other writer (Stephen King holds the title!), she resides in Cambridge, Mass.

A big thank you to Mameve Medwed, Alcove Press, and NetGalley for providing a complimentary Advance Reader Copy in exchange for this honest review.

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Passamaquoddy, Maine. Famous, at least to me, because of Pete's Dragon, the movie from the late seventies. It's also the setting for Mameve Medwed's sweet, easy novel about love, death, and what's most important in life.

Annie is married to Sam, her high school sweetheart, and together they own Annie's Samwich Shop, a locally famous eatery. Sam, despite his goofy incompetence at tasks most adults can accomplish with their eyes shut, has been there for Annie always, supporting her after her beloved father died and grieving with her through miscarriages and the still birth of their daughter. But when Annie receives a diagnosis of possible terminal lung cancer, she cannot bring herself to insist her husband have a serious discussion with her about her health, deciding to tell him only after her future appointment with a specialist. Instead of telling him about the grim diagnosis, she starts writing him an instruction manual called Life Minus Me: A User's Guide so she can know he'll be able to navigate everyday life without her. She hides the manual in her underwear drawer where her flamboyant, overbearing actress mother, Ursula, in town to receive an award, finds it. Their relationship is more antagonistic than anything else, with Annie frustrated by what she sees as her mother's constant narcissism, but when Ursula pulls strings to get Annie into a hot shot oncologist in NYC, Annie agrees to go to the city with Ursula without telling Sam what is going on. The trip, which extends longer than planned and results in more answers than expected, gives Annie and her mother time to work toward understanding and reconciliation with each other as well as a change in perspective for Annie.

The story of a woman given a terrible diagnosis and deciding to help her husband out once she is gone is not new. It's not even fiction if you've seen the news in the past few years. But for as long as Annie and Sam have been together, her inability to ask him to comfort her in this scary time is troubling and his continued incompetence (or is it enabled haplessness?) is not cute. They, and their marriage, come off as far more immature than their ages would assume. There is some conflict here, between Annie and her mother and Annie and Sam, based in large part on misunderstandings but everything is a little too easy, too tidy, and all ends are tied up neatly in the Hallmark-y epilogue. The writing is well done but somehow Annie and Sam don't inspire the laughter and tears that they should. Or maybe it's me being too cynical for the heartwarming, happily ever after. ::shrug:: I suggest you read it yourself and see if you agree with me.… (altro)

An Advance reading copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I thought I knew which way this book was going, but in the middle it took a left turn. Annie is a young wife diagnosed with possible lung cancer. She wants to spare her husband, certainly doesn't want to tell her diva mother, so instead she starts writing an instruction manual for hubby Sam. Only nosy diva Mom finds it in her underwear drawer, learns the diagnosis and spirits her off to the big wigs in New York who do a biopsy and the diagnosis is all wrong. Now how to set things right?… (altro)