Customer Reviews

Penelope Ayers: A Memoir

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First, so there is more information available about this wonderful book, this is from the back cover:

"Penelope Ayers is a memoir about a beautiful, gracious, lonely New Orleanian who discovers one February morning that she is facing a medical crisis. When she reaches out for help, three generations of her fractured, colorful family respond, and in so doing, they all experience grace and healing.

Set in pre-Katrina New Orleans, Penelope Ayers unfolds against the backdrop of one of the world's most vibrant cities. This story offers comfort and inspiration to anyone facing a life-threatening illness, and it will also appeal to individuals wrestling with questions for God, and about God, in the midst of difficult situations. Ultimately, it is a family story about the strong and tenuous nature of hope."

The excerpt above captures it well. So does this: "I laughed. I cried." It's real, probing, and thought provoking. Whether you've walked through an illness with a friend or loved one or you're just a Baby Boomer preparing for the next phase of life, this book deals with the issues that every family faces at some point or another. It does so elegantly but is also helpful in the process. There are principles in it, though not in a preachy way, that are pertinent to navigating typical family dynamics and that everyone can use (I've already given copies to friends dealing with different family challenges). But the whole thing is presented with such care for the written word that it carries you along as you get to know the main characters. It is, ultimately, a beautiful story, beautifully written.

Penelope Ayers is a wonderfully written tale of the coming of age of a family as they battle cancer. Amy Julia makes you feel as if you are in pre-Katrina New Orleans with her and by her side as she helps Penelope battle a horrible disease. I finished the book the weekend before a huge presentation at work and I found it gave me a sense of strength as I thought about Penelope and her fearlessness just before I addressed the group. I could not put it down towards the end (my ten month old ended up with diaper rash I was so distracted by it). This book gives you perspective on what really matters in life and helps you appreciate all of your family's idiosyncrocies. This is a MUST READ!!

I thought it might be a drag and a downer to read a story about someone dying, but nothing could be farther from the truth. First of all, I found myself looking forward to times when I could read it because Penny's story gave me a certain lift or sense of general hopefulness that I can't quite explain. The word that best sums it up is beauty... I felt like I was reading about something truly beautiful.

I know members of this family and I was told by country-clubbers that this was a "must read" and words like...scathing and tell-all were used. I read it not for than reason, but to get to know Penny.

I could not have been more pleasantly surprised. This is a story that could be written about hundreds of families who deal with life and death. What a beautiful rememberance. Every family has members who can be kind, mean, thoughtful and hauty. In the end, something natural - like death- can bring all of them together and the trappings of life become so unimportant. There are many trappings within this family, but instead of coming away with some deep dark inside family secrets.....I finished the book, in tears with a much greater opinion of all of them. Seeing how they all went through the death of Penny, is has become so easy for me to see that they are just people, like the rest of us. I did not know Penny, but I know many "Penny's". Amy Julie told a wonderful story of Penny's life and death. Kudos. The family should be proud of how Penny will be remembered both in life and death. I will share this with family members over the years and hope they can better understand the process and the beauty of dying. Great Book!!!

I did not know what to expect of a memoir about a person I did not know and of whom I had not heard - but it was simply amazing. A story of familial love and all its twists and turns, of moving beyond difficult history, of rising to the occasion to help one in need. It's a page turner and well worth the time to read. Penelope Ayers makes you want to meet Penny and her family and friends, and walk the streets of New Orleans!

A wonderful book for both those anticipating the death of a loved one or even as preparation for our own departing of this world. Beautifully and honestly written by Amy Julia Becker the narrative confronts head on both the struggles of the situation and a personal Christian faith when it is put to the test. The book is also an intriguing insight into society life in New Orleans. A "must" to read for both Christians and those seeking a better understanding of death through the eyes of a believer.

This is a fantastic book! I am so sad I am done reading it! It is truly a MUST read and worth every penny you spend on it!

An account of the final year the author and her husband (and a colorful cast of extended family and friends) shared with, and cared for, and loved her mother in law, Penelope Ayers. In that year, Penelope's body was steadily overcome by an aggressive and unstoppable cancer, while her spirit - and the lives of so many she touched - were impossibly overcome by all kinds of healing. It is a harsh, but beautiful journey. And despite its few silver linings, this is no Hallmark take on dying and death.Instead, it is clear, it is honest, it is warts-and-all. Becker is utterly transparent about the experience - about her questions, and anger, and confusion, and the many inglorious tedious moments, and the surprising bursts of laughter, and unmissable moments of transcending grace - all mixed with the same pettiness-es and clashings that are always part of family life and somehow don't change no matter how much we all supposedly grow up, or what the circumstances.

My wife and I are lucky enough all our parents are still with us and with their health. But this is such a powerful glimpse, an inspiring, and affirming model of what it looks like to truly honor and love a parent through that final transition. It offers no canned advice or cliche, no list of to-dos, or corny five or six or seven keys to masterful care, or memorable acronyms of the must-dos of managing end of life logistics. Just story. And a powerful one at that. I recommend it highly.

This is a beautiful love story. The characters come alive and you get sucked in wanting to know what happens next! I don't enjoy reading and read this book in a day and a half. I couldn't put it down. I LOVED it!

I LOVED this book. As somebody dealing with cancer in the family, it was deeply encouraging--and brought new depths of understanding. First time I've reviewed a book on Amazon, I liked it that much. Get it.