9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
wrenching novel explores more than ravages of Alzheimer's, June 15, 2002
This review is from: The Worst Day of My Life, So Far (Paperback)
M. A. Harper has written a most unusual gem of a novel, one which treats the brutally depressing theme of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's with grace, insight and humor. Not only does "The Worst Day of My Life, So Far" feature a completely believable protagonist; the novel compels the engaged reader to consider its corollary themes of failed marriage, frustrated parenting, ethical decision-making and existential despair. Harper pulls no punches in her narrative, recounted by the ironically anguished/bemused/furious voice of lonely, bewildered and angry Jeanne Buchanan Roth.
The author deliberately introduces a high level of discomfort in her work and refuses to back down from requiring her audience to confront the multiple nightmares of caring for a parent whose ability to function is permanently reduced by mental deterioration. Jeanne's deep ambivalence, emotional isolation and individual lack of fulfillment provoke the reader's sympathy. Jeanne's character, tormented by self-doubt and misgivings as to her decisions, maintains its dynamism through her internal monologues and compels our emotional linkage with her by virtue of her onerous circumstances.
Jeanne Roth can't have a life any worse than the one she is living. The child of a glamorous, distant mother who literally devotes her life to enshrining her annointed husband, C. Ray, Jeanne spends her youth living in the shadow of an idealized marriage. Unloved and unsure of herself, Jeanne never develops an internal strength necessary for mature adult life. Riddled with questions of her own worth, she vaults into an ill-considered marriage which, not surprisingly, flounders and fails. Her mother's certainties about wifely devotion and motherhood stand as symbolic rebukes and repudiations of Jeanne's attempts at family life. Chilled by her own coldness, Jeanne cannot connect with her husband or her son. Never confident about her appearance (a worry encourged by her mother's incessant belittling of Jeanne) and adrift in a life that yearns to escape her suffocating Louisiana roots, Jeanne is reluctantly convinced to return home to care for her mother, Velma, in order to honor her father's last wishes.
"Worst Day" chronicles Jeanne's homecoming and her seemingly-endless obligations to the deteriorating Velma. "I've never had much of a life, and that's pretty much my own fault. I didn't know how to make things work [with my husband]. I've never known how to really connect [with my son]. I don't know exactly just what I have to show for my life. And now, it's over. Dead and buried in Auletta, Louisiana, Official Rectum of The Western World." Yet, there is not a drop of self-pity or self-absorbtion in this gutty novel. Instead, M. A. Harper elects to require the reader to confront every mixed message or panic over a botched decsion we may have experienced ourselves. This invitation to introspection bnds us in an alliance with Jeanne and her turmoil over her life. By so doing, her fears and ambivalences become our own.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Female Mark Twain, June 27, 2001
By A Customer
What a ferocious book, what a scathing wit this writer has! Harper dares to speak the unspoken (and frequently funny) thoughts that many care givers have, but are hesitant to share with those of us who might not understand. Chronically sleep-deprived, often suspected by other family members of trying to loot the Alzheimer's patient's bank account (or worse), these unsung heroes or heroines labor in the most thankless of jobs, under the most demoralizing of circumstances. Who can blame them if their worldview is less than rosy? What might have become some drearily maudlin "movie of the week" tale in less sure hands instead is a bracing slap of cold water into the faces of those of us who live ordinary lives and don't have the good sense to be thankful for them. Mark Twain would've loved this woman and loved her book. He, too, derived his wild humor from the darkest of personal circumstances. Just as you don't have to be a riverboat pilot to enjoy his most famous works, neither do you have to know anyone with Alzheimer's disease to laugh at loud at this furious but funny novel.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The real story of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's, September 2, 2002
This review is from: The Worst Day of My Life, So Far (Paperback)
I read this book because I was told it was humorous. As a professional Geriatric Care Manager, I did not find it funny in the traditional sense, but rather one of the most important books about Alzheimer's disease I have ever found. I will recommend this book to all of my "Dutiful Daughters" and an occassional son who are living this. Although it is very hard to read if you are in the midst of fulfilling a caregiver role, I think the value is immense. Congratulations to M.A.Harper for telling such a meaningful story..............it needs to be read by many.
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