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I want to thank GR friend, Mark Porton for making me aware of this book. His review is here: /review/show....

Sometimes there are special times for these books, and this is one of those times.

This is a deeply moving story about New York Times bestselling author, Amy Bloom’s emotional journey with her husband Brian, who chooses to end his life after he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

This is a heart-wrenching, yet heart-felt story that begins with one opening sentence by her husband in which he says, “Please write about this.��

How many times have we sat around and watched our loved ones suffer?

I took care of my mother for the last 4 years of her life. She eventually died of Dementia with Lewy Bodies, a form of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. It is horrible to watch a person who was once vibrant and capable and a talented oil painting artist, suddenly unable to care for herself �� who lived with hallucinations and fear and uncertainty. Who became child-like and incapable of doing anything for herself. As her adult child, it broke my heart to watch her decline. All I could do was manage her care, as best I could and advocate for her, as best I could, under the conditions that were available to us.

So, I get what Amy and Brian needed to do. The decisions that they chose to make. To make a choice to die in a way that is not painful, frightening, traumatic or illegal.

We do it for our animals, and yet we don’t provide these same humane decisions for humans.

The couple finally found Dignitas, “an organization in Switzerland that empowers a person to end their own life with dignity and peace.��

Bloom shares the story in parts. Her husband’s disease. The closing chapters. As readers we know the end is coming. And even as it does, it still feels like a shock. Maybe because we spent so much time getting to know Brian and going through everything with him �� telling the kids, his siblings, even his elderly mother and friends their intentions.

The hardest part of this book �� when you think about it �� in the end �� is the title of this book. It really is about being��

In Love.

The things we do for love.

Because in the end �� Amy was a widow. Is a widow. Without Brian. And even at the memorial, we are so aware that he is the only one missing �� and not there, so to speak.

But that is not how she ends this story. Again, it is all about the Love. And that really is how we should always remember a love story. What both Brian and Amy shared with each other.

The decisions they made together. In Love.

Thank you again, Mark. For this book recommendation. I am truly feeling immense gratitude for this reading experience.