2018 Challenge - Book #1 - And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer

Here we are.  Another year.  Another attempt at 75 books.  This year, like I said, I am going to just read.  I have picked books, and have received a lot of suggestions from friends and family.  I am excited to get started on a fresh list of books and see how far I get.

So - book #1 is under wraps.  I had it read in an hour, so it was a good one to start with.

The book was:  And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer

This is the story of an elderly man who is struggling to hold onto his memories and his grandson's struggle to say goodbye.  Grandpa has the onset of Alzheimer's disease.  He takes his grandson to their favorite place to talk about how he needs to say goodbye because soon he won't be able to remember their times together.  The grandson is a bit too young to understand everything that is happening.   The story flips through the younger years of the grandpa and what he was like as a child, what he was like as a father, and now as a grandfather.  He remembers his times when his wife was alive, and thinks he sees her now.  He tells her that he is afraid of losing himself, and she lets him know it is okay to let go.

This was a great novella.  It is under 100 pages, so very quick to read.  I watched my own grandfather slip into dementia at the end of his life, and forget everyone he knows.  It is hard to watch as a family member.  I liked how the grandfather chose to handle it with his young grandson - asking him to say goodbye now when his grandfather is still the person he remembers.  He doesn't want his grandson to see what he will become.

Fredrik Backman is an amazing writer.  A Man Called Ove was probably my favorite book I read last year.  So a lot of Backman's books are on my list for this year!  I am looking forward to reading them all.

Stars: 5