In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss
- Downloads：5338
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-03 00:51:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Amy Bloom
- ISBN：1783787996
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
In January 2020， Amy Bloom travelled with her husband Brian to Switzerland， where he was helped by Dignitas to end his life while Amy sat with him and held his hand。 Brian was terminally ill and for the last year of his life Amy had struggled to find a way to support his wish to take control of his death， to not submerge 'into the darkness of an expiring existence'。
Written with piercing insight and wit， In Love is Bloom's intimate， authentic and startling account of losing Brian， first slowly to the disease of Alzheimer's， and then on becoming a widow。 It charts the anxiety and pain of the process that led them to Dignitas， while never avoiding the complex ethical problems that are raised by assisted death。 A poignant love letter to Bloom's husband and a passionate outpouring of grief， In Love reaffirms the power and value of human relationships。
Written with piercing insight and wit， In Love is Bloom's intimate， authentic and startling account of losing Brian， first slowly to the disease of Alzheimer's， and then on becoming a widow。 It charts the anxiety and pain of the process that led them to Dignitas， while never avoiding the complex ethical problems that are raised by assisted death。 A poignant love letter to Bloom's husband and a passionate outpouring of grief， In Love reaffirms the power and value of human relationships。
Reviews
Lisa Day
，
A tribute to love Amy Bloom’s prose has always been poignant， but this memoir is raw and vulnerable in its poignancy。 She humanizes the hardest parts of the Alzheimer’s experience， implicitly advocating for more humane choices in the U。S。
Beth
，
Raw。 Moving memoir of Bloom’s husbands death by assisted suicide
Mary Ellen Bates
，
Heartbreaking， captivating， and some of the most clear-headed writing I have ever experienced。
Natalie Park
，
It is such a courageous act to write so plain and honestly about a painful and heartbreaking time， the loss of a husband to Alzheimer’s。 This story is a bit different than others as he makes the decision nearly upon learning his diagnosis to end his life early on in the disease。 The telling is beautiful and filled with so much love and caring。 Highly recommend listening to the audiobook read by the author。
Marni
，
Read by the author， who has a lovely voice。 4 stars for the casual reader， 5 stars if you are facing this situation。
Arleen
，
Amy Bloom shares her deeply personal journey。 It is one of love and devotion between husband and wife challenged with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease。 Thoughtful and passionate， yet sprinkled with enough humor to make it ultimately readable and nearly impossible to put down。 We know the ending at the beginning。 The process and emotions Ms。 Bloom shares with her readers could not have been more private and challenging。 My thoughts remain with Amy Bloom， author and wife， and her dear love， Bria Amy Bloom shares her deeply personal journey。 It is one of love and devotion between husband and wife challenged with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease。 Thoughtful and passionate， yet sprinkled with enough humor to make it ultimately readable and nearly impossible to put down。 We know the ending at the beginning。 The process and emotions Ms。 Bloom shares with her readers could not have been more private and challenging。 My thoughts remain with Amy Bloom， author and wife， and her dear love， Brian。 May his memory be for a blessing。 。。。more
Aari Ludvigsen
，
Clear-eyed & heartbreaking。 And important。
Diane
，
The last couple of paragraphs moved me。 But overall， and with the perspective of caretaking for two family members in cognitive decline， I got the impression her husband Brian was a burden rather than a soul。 Not that the author would ever see it that way as her atheism was worn like a badge of honor。 She complains of all the paperwork necessary to get it approved。 She rolls her eyes in his last minutes of life because he's talking too much and not about her。 She belittles the professionals and The last couple of paragraphs moved me。 But overall， and with the perspective of caretaking for two family members in cognitive decline， I got the impression her husband Brian was a burden rather than a soul。 Not that the author would ever see it that way as her atheism was worn like a badge of honor。 She complains of all the paperwork necessary to get it approved。 She rolls her eyes in his last minutes of life because he's talking too much and not about her。 She belittles the professionals and friends who don't support the decision。 I just did not feel for her at all。 For Brian， yes， and his mother but not her。 。。。more
Lillian
，
Cogent and elegiac memoir of the rarely discussed topic of assisted suicide。 Illuminating and heartbreaking。
Sujin Stone
，
4。5 Stars。 Audiobook。
Lauren Archer
，
This is the third book in March that read that chronicles the loss of a husband。 Two were for the Modern Mrs Darcy Book club and this one， because I love Amy Bloom。 While difficult each one was beautifully written and gave a different view on this difficult topic。Amy’s husband was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and quickly decides he wants to end his life on his own terms。 Bloom spends time in this memoir to share their love story but ultimately the process of finding Dignitas in Switzer This is the third book in March that read that chronicles the loss of a husband。 Two were for the Modern Mrs Darcy Book club and this one， because I love Amy Bloom。 While difficult each one was beautifully written and gave a different view on this difficult topic。Amy’s husband was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and quickly decides he wants to end his life on his own terms。 Bloom spends time in this memoir to share their love story but ultimately the process of finding Dignitas in Switzerland and all the lengths they go through to get accepted by their organization。She does not hold back at all about her feelings， and at times this felt like a study of how this process works。 This is not an easy topic at all and I understand not everyone will agree with the decisions made on this journey。 I imagine it was very cathartic for Bloom， but also this might just help other families who are facing similar situations。 My heart goes out to her for the decisions she had to make， and ultimately supporting the man she loves， to choose to end his life on his own terms and timeline。 Ultimately knowing how it will end， gave him strength， but also allowed his family to be part of this process with him。Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Kathie Newell
，
This is a very insightful and thoughtful book by a woman whose husband is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s and chooses to die on his own terms。 The bravery and courage and patience and understanding and determination of the author are all palpable throughout the pages （and months） of this book。 I am so very glad I read this book！ It makes me want to try to do something to improve the “right to die” laws in the US。
Jodi
，
Rough and beautiful and it made me bawl my head off。
Cindy
，
Recommend。
Allyson Neighbors
，
4。5 stars
Rose
，
How does one review a book like this。 A book filled with so much humanity， grace and dignity。 A book where people just cannot judge it because， thankfully， most of us will not have to go through this type of situation。 Yet， a book that can ultimately be a guide for those who make the decision to move foreword and choose the peaceful， quiet assisted suicide on their own terms， rather than fall into despair， pain， or in this case disappear altogether。 Amy Bloom’s book about how honoring her husban How does one review a book like this。 A book filled with so much humanity， grace and dignity。 A book where people just cannot judge it because， thankfully， most of us will not have to go through this type of situation。 Yet， a book that can ultimately be a guide for those who make the decision to move foreword and choose the peaceful， quiet assisted suicide on their own terms， rather than fall into despair， pain， or in this case disappear altogether。 Amy Bloom’s book about how honoring her husbands decision to do this obviously did not come easy。 There is no easy in any of this。 The absolute open-hearted honesty， and gut-wrenching pain can be felt deeply throughout their story。 To be the orchestrator and researcher to find the where and the how to get the help they needed， to having to move on this quickly and yet inside， she doesn’t want to move quickly because then that would be the “end” of her husband。 It’s just all too awful to think about what Amy went through。 I loved her weaving their story from the time they met， along side the journey to his end and how she shared their perfectly imperfect marriage and the deep， deep love they had for one another。I would recommend listening to this book since Amy Bloom is reading it herself。 You can literally feel the joy， the sadness， the anger and all the ranges of emotions in ther voice。 I’m glad Brian， her husband asked her to write this book。 It is a beautiful gift to us， but feels like a wonderful tool for her grieving。 。。。more
Dale
，
This is a beautiful book。 It has grace， it's poignant and funny， sad but happy。 I laughed and I cried。 I am rarely so touched by a book as I was with this memoir。 Thank you to Amy Bloom for sharing。 This is a beautiful book。 It has grace， it's poignant and funny， sad but happy。 I laughed and I cried。 I am rarely so touched by a book as I was with this memoir。 Thank you to Amy Bloom for sharing。 。。。more
Colin Bischoff
，
Emotionally honest but also very level headed。 Bloom does a great job of explaining how hard of a decision death is but also why it is necessary。
Molly
，
An important book， and an amazingly clear and honest one。
Anna
，
I love everything about this book - especially the honesty of the author。 She doesn't hide her frustrations about living with a person with dementia symptoms and the exhaustion of that。 I like the honest conversation about right to die laws and dementia （let's be real - we're all， personally， afraid of it）。 Such a sad sad book though。 I love everything about this book - especially the honesty of the author。 She doesn't hide her frustrations about living with a person with dementia symptoms and the exhaustion of that。 I like the honest conversation about right to die laws and dementia （let's be real - we're all， personally， afraid of it）。 Such a sad sad book though。 。。。more
Christine Merrill
，
I'm a big supporter of euthanasia/right to die， especially when confronted with a terminal illness or one that steals your faculties。 I'm also weirdly into memoirs about cancer/dying/confronting the end of life with dignity。 Alas， this book really hits right in the middle of the Venn diagram for those two things， and Amy Bloom is a writer who is clear， concise and tremendously moving。 No wasted words。 All of that to say: I recommend， especially if you have anyone in your life with Alzheimer's or I'm a big supporter of euthanasia/right to die， especially when confronted with a terminal illness or one that steals your faculties。 I'm also weirdly into memoirs about cancer/dying/confronting the end of life with dignity。 Alas， this book really hits right in the middle of the Venn diagram for those two things， and Amy Bloom is a writer who is clear， concise and tremendously moving。 No wasted words。 All of that to say: I recommend， especially if you have anyone in your life with Alzheimer's or dementia。 。。。more
Andrea
，
What a touching， heart wrenching story of love and a tense journey to find peace at the end of one's life。 It's good there is an option to end life in such a thoughtful， touching way。 I appreciate Amy Bloom sharing such a personal， poignant story and educating the reader on all the hoops she and her husband Brian had to go through。 I'd heard about Dignitas in Switzerland before， but liked hearing the details about how it works。 This book reminded me about the fictional work， Me Before You， by Jo What a touching， heart wrenching story of love and a tense journey to find peace at the end of one's life。 It's good there is an option to end life in such a thoughtful， touching way。 I appreciate Amy Bloom sharing such a personal， poignant story and educating the reader on all the hoops she and her husband Brian had to go through。 I'd heard about Dignitas in Switzerland before， but liked hearing the details about how it works。 This book reminded me about the fictional work， Me Before You， by JoJo Moyes。 。。。more
Ncsherman
，
This book is the true story of Amy’s husband， Brian， facing his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s。 He chooses to end his life with a groupin Switzerland。 The U。S。 has some states that allow some assistance but only in certain circumstances。
afewsocks
，
brilliant， heartbreaking story of a couple's love and their ultimate letting go。 brilliant， heartbreaking story of a couple's love and their ultimate letting go。 。。。more
David Gottesman
，
Touching Tribute This loving story of dealing with the tragedy of Alzheimer’s was a terrific exposure to the reality of ending one’s life on one’s own terms。
Sarah
，
Another book about my two favorite topics， love & death。
Kay Em
，
felt like a friend was explaining a season of loss to me。
Lina Fernandez
，
Quietly shattering。 I’m not sure what I was expecting but this was somehow more painful than that。
Maureen
，
Amy Bloom writes this with raw honesty， total integrity， and the entirety of her self。
Katy McDonald
，