Little Matches: A Memoir of Grief and Light
- Downloads：2857
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-24 11:30:59
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Maryanne O'Hara
- ISBN：0063027763
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Pam Jenoff
，
O'Hara writes of the tragic loss of her daughter Caitlin at the age of 33 to cystic fibrosis in this haunting and beautiful reflection on loss and life。 O'Hara writes of the tragic loss of her daughter Caitlin at the age of 33 to cystic fibrosis in this haunting and beautiful reflection on loss and life。 。。。more
Kathleen Gray
，
This is a tough emotional journey that is ultimately deeply rewarding。 Maryanne's life revolved around her daughter Caitlin for over 30 years。 Caitlin's CF didn't stop her from living a full and very good life nor Maryanne from worrying about her。 They started a blog， a living document devoted not only to Caitlin's medical condition but their lives in general。 This memoir incorporates parts of the blog as well as their journals， texts， and the emails they shared with each other and their friends This is a tough emotional journey that is ultimately deeply rewarding。 Maryanne's life revolved around her daughter Caitlin for over 30 years。 Caitlin's CF didn't stop her from living a full and very good life nor Maryanne from worrying about her。 They started a blog， a living document devoted not only to Caitlin's medical condition but their lives in general。 This memoir incorporates parts of the blog as well as their journals， texts， and the emails they shared with each other and their friends and families。 Caitlin's death leaves Maryanne bereft but also wondering about the future- grief has hung over her for years because she knew this moment would come。 Her thoughts， her hunt for meaning， and her dive into the spiritual will resonate。 Thanks to edelweiss for the ARC。 Excellent thought provoking read。 。。。more
Leslie Lindsay
，
{For all my reviews， including author interviews， please see: www。leslielindsay。com|Always with a Book。 Maryanne O'Hara will be featured in May 2021}What happens when your only child dies of a tragic genetic disease and you're left to grapple with the meaning of life？ This is the overarching question that plaques novelist Maryanne O'Hara as she makes sense of the senseless loss of her adult daughter， Caitlin， following a near-lifelong battle of cystic fibrosis （CF） in her forthcoming memoir， LIT {For all my reviews， including author interviews， please see: www。leslielindsay。com|Always with a Book。 Maryanne O'Hara will be featured in May 2021}What happens when your only child dies of a tragic genetic disease and you're left to grapple with the meaning of life？ This is the overarching question that plaques novelist Maryanne O'Hara as she makes sense of the senseless loss of her adult daughter， Caitlin， following a near-lifelong battle of cystic fibrosis （CF） in her forthcoming memoir， LITTLE MATCHES （HarperOne， April 20 2021）。 Immediately， I was enthralled with the deep well of questions this wise writer posits to the reader: Where is she？ Is she？ Is there more to life than this life？ Does consciousness survive death？ Does my existence have any purpose？Does anyone's？ Of course， death is the only certainty in life and while that's ironic （and a bit glib）， there is so much life that happens in that interstitial space。 This is why I think I love LITTLE MATCHES。 Maryanne and her husband， Nick， lose their only child--Caitlin--when she is 33 years old。 For thirty-one of those years， they cared for a daughter who was diagnosed with CF。 They were told she would live a long life or die in a matter of months。 LITTLE MATCHES is at once a medical memoir about CF， but also it's a mother-daughter memoir about life and love。 But there's more here， too， breathing in the spaces of context are so many metaphysical， existential questions and quandaries， symbolism， coincidences， more。 I found LITTLE MATCHES to be wholly inviting， authentic， raw， and told with an intimate candor。 O'Hara is a wise and powerful storyteller， a strong mother， and so much more。 This is a tough read， with a heartbreakingly expected mid-point yet a profound and meaningful outcome。 Cobbled together in bits and pieces of blog entries， Caitlin's journals， lists， drawings， song titles， more， LITTLE MATCHES is a slightly meandering narrative in which O'Hara consults medical research and mediums so that she may better understand the complexity of her role in her daughter's life， her death， and to make meaning of her purpose。 In the end， O'Hara becomes an end-of-life death doula so that she may better help others as they let go of this earth， but also to assist those who are left in their wake。 I was reminded， in part， of the work of Brian Weiss but also Raymond Moody's LIFE AFTER LIFE， Eben Alexander's PROOF OF HEAVEN， and other like-minded books。 It's also a medical memoir， so in the vein of Heather Harpham's HAPPINESS。 For all my reviews， including author interviews， please see: www。leslielindsay。com|Always with a Book。 Special thanks to HarperOne and Dewey Decimal Media for this review copy。 All thoughts are my own。 。。。more
Susan Conley
，
Little Matches is such a beautifully written， deeply wise， and inviting story about grieving and hope。 O’Hara invites the reader into her world and into her family， and it's such a loving family。 We learn about their incredible humor and strength in the face of O'Hara's daughter Caitlin's advancing illness。 O’Hara is so generous to the reader in terms of creating riveting and immersive scenes， and so good on dialogue and intimate details， that we feel we are transported into their lives: learnin Little Matches is such a beautifully written， deeply wise， and inviting story about grieving and hope。 O’Hara invites the reader into her world and into her family， and it's such a loving family。 We learn about their incredible humor and strength in the face of O'Hara's daughter Caitlin's advancing illness。 O’Hara is so generous to the reader in terms of creating riveting and immersive scenes， and so good on dialogue and intimate details， that we feel we are transported into their lives: learning every step of the way about what it is like to lose the person we most love and what it means to go on living， with hope。 I am so grateful to have read this book and to know that it's out there now， for me to point other people towards。 I can't recommend it enough。 。。。more
Marika
，
An achingly beautiful memoir written by the parents of Caitlin O'Hara after learning that Caitlin was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis （CF） at the age of two。 Their journey took place over 32 years as they awaited lungs that were suitable for transplanting。 Caitlin was on the transplant list for two years before losing her battle to CF。 This memoir will resonate with all parents as they read about stepping back and allowing the adult Caitlin to life her life on her terms。 * I read an advance copy An achingly beautiful memoir written by the parents of Caitlin O'Hara after learning that Caitlin was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis （CF） at the age of two。 Their journey took place over 32 years as they awaited lungs that were suitable for transplanting。 Caitlin was on the transplant list for two years before losing her battle to CF。 This memoir will resonate with all parents as they read about stepping back and allowing the adult Caitlin to life her life on her terms。 * I read an advance copy and was not compensated。 。。。more
Linden
，
An intensely difficult to read memoir by a mother who loses her only daughter-- from complications of a lifetime of suffering from cystic fibrosis。 Maryanne discusses her pain; she will do anything to help Caitlin。 In her grief， she seeks help from mediums and astrologers， and finds signs everywhere。 I liked the quote from Caitlin and Leonard Cohen: "We can choose to be kind and to keep trying—we have the power。。。。 there is a crack in everything。 That’s how the light gets in。” Thanks to Edelweis An intensely difficult to read memoir by a mother who loses her only daughter-- from complications of a lifetime of suffering from cystic fibrosis。 Maryanne discusses her pain; she will do anything to help Caitlin。 In her grief， she seeks help from mediums and astrologers， and finds signs everywhere。 I liked the quote from Caitlin and Leonard Cohen: "We can choose to be kind and to keep trying—we have the power。。。。 there is a crack in everything。 That’s how the light gets in。” Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for this ARC。 。。。more
Bobbi Wagner
，
I enjoyed this memoir book。 This is a story about a mother who loses her adult child and the connection between life and death。 This is an interesting book that was easy to read。 It is an emotional story about a mother who wanted to cry for through most of the book。 I enjoyed watching her search for a soul and her growth throughout the book。 This is a great story that I am happy I picked up and I think you would enjoy it too。 This is a new author for me and I look forward to seeing what is next I enjoyed this memoir book。 This is a story about a mother who loses her adult child and the connection between life and death。 This is an interesting book that was easy to read。 It is an emotional story about a mother who wanted to cry for through most of the book。 I enjoyed watching her search for a soul and her growth throughout the book。 This is a great story that I am happy I picked up and I think you would enjoy it too。 This is a new author for me and I look forward to seeing what is next for her。 I highly recommend this book。 。。。more
Jessica Keener
，
Gorgeous， wise， powerful， emotionally packed and inspiring， I consumed this memoir as if my soul depended on it。 This is an absolute must-read for anyone who has lost their loved one to a serious illness or unexpected event and has wondered， now what？ How do I go on？ What is life's meaning？ Grief can show us more light than we may have thought possible。 Maryanne writes about the loss of her adult daughter， Caitlin， with beautiful candor and intimacy， and takes you on an unforgettable journey。 Gorgeous， wise， powerful， emotionally packed and inspiring， I consumed this memoir as if my soul depended on it。 This is an absolute must-read for anyone who has lost their loved one to a serious illness or unexpected event and has wondered， now what？ How do I go on？ What is life's meaning？ Grief can show us more light than we may have thought possible。 Maryanne writes about the loss of her adult daughter， Caitlin， with beautiful candor and intimacy， and takes you on an unforgettable journey。 。。。more
Diane Secchiaroli
，
This is an interesting memoir written by the mother of a young woman （33） who is in the end stages of lung function and must be put on a transplant list。 Because of her small size and an other bacterial infection she is removed from all transplant lists except for one in Pittsburg。 They move to Pittsburgh in hopes that she can be a secondary recipient if lungs do not come through for her based on the score that is given to any organ recipients。Caitlin become sicker and sicker with her score risi This is an interesting memoir written by the mother of a young woman （33） who is in the end stages of lung function and must be put on a transplant list。 Because of her small size and an other bacterial infection she is removed from all transplant lists except for one in Pittsburg。 They move to Pittsburgh in hopes that she can be a secondary recipient if lungs do not come through for her based on the score that is given to any organ recipients。Caitlin become sicker and sicker with her score rising but still no donor is found。 At Times you get Caitlin’s musings and thoughts。 Maryanne， the mother is writing a blog about her daughter from which she gets encouragement and can relate to other CF survivors。 You learn a lot about organ donations， Cystic Fibrosis， mother/daughter relationships， grief， hope and Mediums which her mother and some of Caitlin’s friends use。 It is a sad story。 This was an ARC through NetGalley and the author。 。。。more
Lisa
，
"Little Matches is the bravest and most generous of memoirs。 It is the diary of your dearest friend， intimate and universal， an exquisitely written poem of deepest love， grief， and devotion。 This is a journey of the soul。 I feel haunted by these pages and profoundly blessed to have read them。" "Little Matches is the bravest and most generous of memoirs。 It is the diary of your dearest friend， intimate and universal， an exquisitely written poem of deepest love， grief， and devotion。 This is a journey of the soul。 I feel haunted by these pages and profoundly blessed to have read them。" 。。。more
Toni
，
Part Memoir， Part Spirituality， this book is written by Caitlin's Mom。 Caitlin was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at the age of 2。 From a medical perspective as an RRT who worked in a CF Center。 all medical information was spot on。 For me it was an inspirational insight to the family， primarily the Mom on have a child with this disease。There also was spiritual streams on consciousness as to what happens when one dies。It was an uplifting story under a difficult situation。 Part Memoir， Part Spirituality， this book is written by Caitlin's Mom。 Caitlin was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at the age of 2。 From a medical perspective as an RRT who worked in a CF Center。 all medical information was spot on。 For me it was an inspirational insight to the family， primarily the Mom on have a child with this disease。There also was spiritual streams on consciousness as to what happens when one dies。It was an uplifting story under a difficult situation。 。。。more
Doreen Blair
，
LITTLE MATCHES-Maryanne O'Hara The book is well written and is basically a memoir of Mrs。 O'Hara and her daughter Caitlin。Diagnosed at two years old with cystic fibrosis opened a world that the parents nor the child， Caitlin。 ever anticipated。 Many years of Caitlin's life were somewhat uneventful other than a cold or flu that held on too long。 Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that builds mucus around and in organs causing many infections， diabetes， chronic illnesses and other health issues。 LITTLE MATCHES-Maryanne O'Hara The book is well written and is basically a memoir of Mrs。 O'Hara and her daughter Caitlin。Diagnosed at two years old with cystic fibrosis opened a world that the parents nor the child， Caitlin。 ever anticipated。 Many years of Caitlin's life were somewhat uneventful other than a cold or flu that held on too long。 Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that builds mucus around and in organs causing many infections， diabetes， chronic illnesses and other health issues。 It is not curable at this time but great advances have been made since Caitlin's diagnosis。 Caitlin， as she grew was questioning and was anger about her limitations。 However， she developed a tenacious spirit。 The challenges a chronically ill child/family face on a daily basis are monumental。 The language and understanding of CF was helpful and there are many questions and avenues to explore in treating this disease。 The book is a memoir written by Mom but drawn also from Caitlin's journals。 covering the communication struggles， and relationship between Mother and daughter as well as the medical challenges。 I chose this book because I lost a sweet young friend， 26， to cystic fibrous in 2009。 Reading the book gave me much more insight into all her family's life time of struggles。 My sweet friend was a Christ follower which made the loss hopeful。 We know she is with God until the day we all are reunited。The book was well written， honest， informative and helpful to me personally。 。。。more
Donna Boyd
，