“This book takes on a topic that I think most of us really shy away from. And it’s not the easiest read, but I think it makes things better.
We watch Roz’s parents decline, and I think the thing I can’t help but notice is how different this is from almost every fictional narrative of older people and death. It’s not overly graphic or anything, but it makes it feel a lot less romantic. Less like older people tend to have much agency when they go. It’s very realistic about the post-golden years, the time when, and it sound heartless to say this, the person can be very unhappy, very much unable to function on any level, and is slogging down the long hallway towards death.
I really appreciated the way Chast is open about the fact that she was never close with her mother. That even in death, they never really got there. I think that’s the case for some of us. We don’t always get close to our parents, even if we want to. We don’t always get a revelation at the end.
The reason I think this makes things better, it helps to read about someone else who goes through this stuff. And it really helps if you’re having a tough go of it too. It helps to know that dying is goddamn ridiculously expensive and sort of impossible as money goes. And it REALLY helps if you feel like you missed out on that last, big hugfest that’s supposed to come at the end of a loved one’s life. You’re not the only one, and it’s okay.”