How to Forget: A Daughter’s Memoir by Kate Mulgrew
Non fiction recap of Kate’s memories of her mother’s life.
This story includes the life and impact and progress of disease on both her parents. Her father had an aggressive lung cancer at the end of his life and her mother developed Alzheimer’s. The text includes how she and her family dealt with each death from beginning to end as each of the parents succumbed. Some period history was mentioned for background and rounding out who they were.
It’s emotional, heartbreaking, and so typical of any family going through life, death and today’s typical diseases. I’m guessing most people will be able to relate to the loss on many levels. I know it jogged a lot of my own memories but at the same time recognizing that every loss is personal.

🎧 I listened to an audiobook copy of this for the majority of the book. It was narrated by Kate Mulgrew and brought the really personal feelings to the front.

I received an ARC of this book from a publisher conference where it was highly acclaimed and recommended. I agree. I think the author did a great job of dealing with death and disease and while it’s a heartbreaking story, it also normalizes the experience as we all experience something similar. At least that’s what I felt from reading this story. ( )

Narrated by the author, HOW TO FORGET: A DAUGHTER'S MEMOIR is an incredibly intimate and detailed account of how Kate Mulgrew and her family cared and provided for their sick parents.

In brief, her father had an aggressive form of lung cancer that spread throughout his body and her mother had Alzheimer's disease. I felt like I had to read this book as my dad also died from an aggressive form of lung cancer, and my mom is battling Alzheimer's disease right now.

I read Mulgrew's previous memoir BORN WITH TEETH, and I enjoyed it. She narrated that book as well. (She's an EXCELLENT narrator overall; I loved her performance of Joe Hill's NOS4A2.)

I found her account to be poignant and sad but I was also a bit peeved and I'll tell you why. This is a purely personal thing, and maybe it has a tinge of envy on my part, to be honest. In America, it is much easier to get old, get sick, or get old AND sick, if you have money. The choices available to you when you have money are varied and numerous. When you are poor or even middle class, that is not the case. Not everyone can take leave from their job to nurse a sick parent. Not everyone can hire people to move in with their parents to help take some of the burden off the family. Not everyone can buy an entire house to make caring for a family member easier either. It irked me that Ms. Mulgrew never acknowledged such in this book.

*Gets up on soapbox.* Let me be clear, I am not envious of Kate's money, she's an excellent actress, narrator and writer, she earned it. What I am envious of is the QUALITY OF CARE that Kate and her family were able to provide to their parents. Being a working class/middle class person, I cannot even begin to provide my mother the care she deserves. Quality of medical care and end of life care should not be based on wallet size. *Steps down from soapbox.*

That aside, I'm glad that I listened to this book. I feel less alone-I feel like other people have gone through what I am going through right now, and somehow that helps lessen my pain. I think I'm also able to empathize a bit more with my mom's situation, though I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it was viewing what she is going through, through a different set of eyes? Whatever the reason, I found myself more patient yesterday with my mom and I think that made it easier on both of us.

I recommend this book, especially to those trying to deal with sick parents, while still trying to work and maintain their own sanity. If only for the reason that HOW TO FORGET makes you feel less alone. Because that is no small thing.

*Thank you to my public library for the free audio download. Libraries RULE!* ( )

Mulgrew looks at her life with her father and then her mother in this intimate memoir. ( )