The Family on Beartown Road: A Memoir of Love and Courage [Paperback]

Elizabeth Cohen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 2004

A New York Times Notable Book

The Family on Beartown Road is Elizabeth Cohen’s true and moving portrait of love and courage.

Elizabeth, a member of the “sandwich generation”—those caught in the middle, simultaneously caring for their children and for their aging parents—is the mother of baby Ava and the daughter of Daddy, and responsible for both. In this story full of everyday triumphs, first steps, and an elder’s confusion, Ava finds each new picture, each new word, each new song, something to learn greedily, joyfully. Daddy is a man in his twilight years, for whom time moves slowly and lessons are not learned but quietly, frustratingly forgotten. Elizabeth, a suddenly single mother with a career and a mortgage and a hamperful of laundry, finds her world spiraling out of control. Faced with mounting disasters, she chooses to confront life head-on, and to see the unique beauty in each and every moment.

Imbued with an unquenchable spirit, The Family on Beartown Road takes us on a journey through the remarkable landscape that is family.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK

“Frank, funny...courageous.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“The adventure and peril of everyday living captured in language that’s light, beautiful, and razor-sharp.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“The book is poignant and sad, funny and real, and highlights what is universally nutty about living with other people.”
—Melissa Fay Greene, author of The Temple Bombing and Praying for Sheetrock

“[A] touching memoir...What makes the book so sympathetic is Cohen’s lack of self-pity and the straightforward tone....[A] superb chronicle.”
—People

From the Inside Flap

A New York Times Notable Book

The Family on Beartown Road is Elizabeth Cohen?s true and moving portrait of love and courage.

Elizabeth, a member of the ?sandwich generation??those caught in the middle, simultaneously caring for their children and for their aging parents?is the mother of baby Ava and the daughter of Daddy, and responsible for both. In this story full of everyday triumphs, first steps, and an elder?s confusion, Ava finds each new picture, each new word, each new song, something to learn greedily, joyfully. Daddy is a man in his twilight years, for whom time moves slowly and lessons are not learned but quietly, frustratingly forgotten. Elizabeth, a suddenly single mother with a career and a mortgage and a hamperful of laundry, finds her world spiraling out of control. Faced with mounting disasters, she chooses to confront life head-on, and to see the unique beauty in each and every moment.

Imbued with an unquenchable spirit, The Family on Beartown Road takes us on a journey through the remarkable landscape that is family.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (March 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812966635
• ISBN-13: 978-0812966633
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #553,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Book, May 7, 2004

By 

Kay Porterfield - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Family on Beartown Road: A Memoir of Love and Courage (Paperback)

Elizabeth Cohen pulls no punches in this beautifully-written story of the year she served as caregiver to her father, Sanford, who struggled through the late-middle stages of Alzheimer's disease. Suddenly the single mother of a toddler and responsible for Sanford's care, she sets down a record of her daughter's growth, her dad's decline and her own struggle as a caregiver. In this unsentimental, yet lyrical book, Cohen writes about her father's tantrums, having to clean him after he has soiled himself, and her difficulty finding daytime caregivers while she works. She also writes about their deep moments of connection that transcend the logical workings of the mind. As she records this watershed year, she finds both meaning and grace in her role as daughter and caregiver. The strongest point that this book makes is that Alzheimer's disease does not dissolve relationships; it transforms them.

After caring for my father, who had progressive dementia for over four years before his death, I regard this book as a gift and an inspration. A caregiver's job is a lonely one. No matter how much we try to connect with support groups and with other family members, we must shoulder an overwhelming responsibility. Books that detail the stages and symptoms of Alzhiemers and tell caregivers how to cope are important. The Family on Bearstown Road is a guide of another sort that is equally important.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beartown.......A Road Worth Traveling, September 7, 2004

By 

Linda Segal (Endwell, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Family on Beartown Road: A Memoir of Love and Courage (Paperback)

I've never been to Beartown Road but thanks to Elizabeth Cohen's vivid portrait of her life there, I've come to know the place. She writes in such a way that I "felt" the seasons change as well as "saw" the changes in Elizabeth and her family. Elizabeth's struggles were portrayed with clarity, warmth, honesty, and poignancy. In describing what life was like on Beartown Road, Elizabeth's sense of humor carried her and this reader through the hassles and triumphs.
I once read a quote that went something like this, "You're never ready for what you have to do. You just do it." That's what Elizabeth did as she undertook the care of her aging, ill, father, Sandy, and the nurturing of her blossoming infant daughter, Ava.
I laughed, I cried, I related. I highly recommend "The Family on Beartown Road."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Family on Beartown Road, October 1, 2004

By 

Myrna A. Webb (Endwell, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Family on Beartown Road: A Memoir of Love and Courage (Paperback)

The House on Beartown Road tugged at bitter-sweet memories as I identified with the craziness we all go through trying to do all the necessary and out of the ordinary things as a mom, daughter and full time career counselor. The humor, pathos and frenetic moments stood out in the book as universal elements all of us go through when parents become children and out of necessity give us over their life. As Ms. Cohen remarked "the usefulness of being constantly busy gave me little time to think about all the things bothering me," with a new full time job, a house to run with three active children, and a run away mom who came to visit me and never went home again. As she described in her book, life takes a toll on everyone in our immediate families and it takes a long time for life to ebb and flow into any kind of natural order. Sometimes I feel that my mom died cell by cell. Elizabeth Cohen helped me remember what I went through but more importantly, find closure. I thank her for putting into words the impossible things that we go through to cope and make life work.