This is a beautiful and well written memoir about a man & his Mother sharing and discussing books as she goes through treatment for terminal cancer.

Both Will and Mary Anne Schwalbe are charming characters with great intellect and insight. Unfortunately for me, about halfway through the book, I grew tired of them and their perfect relationship. She clearly was a remarkable woman butI started to feel overwhelmed by her goodness and annoyed by the advice about helping refugees. Is that my guilty conscience talking? It sure is! Whatever the reason, it reduced my enjoyment.

I am grateful for the interesting book suggestions contained within and I am grateful to have picked up some tips about how to converse with seriuosly ill people.

The book is certainly worth reading but not one of my favorites. ( )

This book was absolutely wonderful. It evoked laughter, awe and sadness and along the way introduced me to many diverse books and authors. Highly recommended. ( )

One of the most touching and inspirational things I've ever read. if you haven't read it yet, put it on your to-read list. ( )

¿Qué estás leyendo? Ésa es la pregunta que le plantea Will Schwalbe a su madre, Mary Ann, mientras están sentados en la sala de espera del centro de atención a pacientes de cáncer del hospital Memorial Sloan-Kettering. En 2007, Mary Ann regresó de un viaje de ayuda humanitaria a Pakistán y Afganistán aquejada de lo que los médicos creyeron que era una clase de hepatitis muy poco común. Meses después le diagnosticaron un cáncer de páncreas en estado avanzado. Will y Mary Anne comparten sus esperanzas e inquietudes a través de sus libros preferidos. Cuando leen, no son una persona enferma y una persona sana, sino una madre y un hijo que viajan juntos.

The books that the author and his dying mother read together during her final years really aren't the point of the book. It's a memoir of her remarkable life and a recounting of how she and her family and friends handled her cancer diagnosis all the way to the end. If you ever think you'll be in this position and wonder how you will/should deal with life before the inevitable end, this is a good book about this family's experience. There are other books on the topic, of course, but can you ever have too much information to help you navigate this sad, stressful situation.
A touching passage: When you're with someone who is dying, you may need to celebrate the past, live the present, and mourn the future all at the same time.
Also: Referring to a friend, Bob .... (He) remains for my family the perfect model of how you can be gone but ever present in the lives of people who loved you, in the same way that your favorite books stay with you for your entire life, no matter how long it's been since you turned the last page. ( )