I changed my feelings about this book several times. In many ways it was a simple and somewhat boring read. In other ways it was a touching immersion into the life of a family dealing with Alzheimer’s. When I thought it was a memoir, I had a more favorable view of it. When I realized it was fiction, I felt let down because there wasn’t enough action. But then I realized that was wrong. Not all books need to be thrillers. This book was fine just the way it was written. Instead, the fault was with me, the reader. I needed to recognize the simple beauty of the story. So don’t expect crazy stunts from the father suffering from Alzheimer’s. Don’t expect some miracle drug ending. But do expect some endearing characters and heartfelt moments.

Khong is clever. So many authors try to write about millennials and fail in making them relatable--or they succeed, but it feels like an insult. As a generation, we're trying, but the first few years of adulthood were an unexpected setback. She gets it. A few of us are in "the unmarried and careerless boat. Which is more like a canoe." I'm impressed by her sensitivity and depiction of Ruth's relationship with her parents. And it's a quick read, so you can get back to all the millennial things you're busy doing.

After a rough breakup with her fiance, Ruth reluctantly accepts her mother's request to return home and help care for her father, Howard, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Once home, Ruth realizes that Howard--an extremely well-respected professor of history--has his good days and bad days, while her mother has stopped cooking (blaming the aluminum in cookware for Howard's illness). Floundering at first, Ruth eventually steps up, cooking for her family, helping her father, and generally trying to regain her footing. But even she cannot ignore that her father's condition is worsening.

This is an interesting novel, told in short bits and pieces, as if Ruth is talking to her father and describing their days. It covers one year after she comes to stay and comes across almost as if a diary, with a very conversational tone (interspersed with her random thoughts). It's oddly compelling and often humorous, despite the serious subject matter. Occasionally, we get a few snippets from a journal Ruth's father kept during her childhood, chronicling funny things she did or said as a child.

As for Ruth, there's a lightness to many of her stories and observations, but also a sadness: she's watching her beloved, intelligent father fall prey to Alzheimer's; there is a darkness as well, as she grapples with finding out imperfections about her parents' marriage and life. The character list is limited, but all we need, including Ruth's younger brother, Linus; Howard's former teaching assistant, Theo; and a few of Ruth's friends. Ruth comes across as a very real person: she doesn't have it all together, but that's okay. A few pieces of the overall story path are predictable, but do not detract from your overall enjoyment of the book.

The few portions we get from Howard's journal regarding young Ruth are amazing: they humanize him and definitely capture parenthood perfectly. They also so well illustrate how Ruth and Howard are slowly switching roles from child to parent, as Ruth almost begins to have similar observations about her own failing father. The way Khong depicts the sadness and poignancy in these moments is just beautiful and brilliant.

In the end, this is a different kind of book: you have to have the patience for it. It doesn't necessarily tell a story in a full arc, but it's sweet and moving. I very much liked Ruth and the novel (even I did wonder how both Ruth and eventually Linus could afford to stay with their parents, while jobless, but oh well.). Lovely and touching - certainly worth picking up.

Great first line: “Tonight a man found Dad’s pants in a tree lit with Christmas lights.” 30-year old Ruth been called home to care for her father who is exhibiting signs of dementia. She has also just broken up with her fiancé. Ruth throws herself into her new role as caregiver where some humor can be found, but unfortunately I realized that her story was not my cup of tea. The style of writing, the streams of conscienceness and uneven flow made for a choppy story that I just couldn’t sink my teeth into.

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong is a touching gem of a novel about family, friendship, and Alzheimer’s disease with an added touch of laughter, sadness, and love.

Ruth Young's life is falling apart, her fiancé just left her for another woman, and her career is going absolutely nowhere. Heartbroken and lost in life, Ruth decides to return home and spend Christmas with her parents. Once home, Ruth's mother begs her to stay for one year to help out with her father who has Alzheimer's, despite her father's insistence that he is absolutely fine. As her father's memory deteriorates Ruth and her mother search for added health benefits - jellyfish recipes and supplements, vitamins, and cruciferous vegetables, all of which her father dislikes. Ruth is determined to read everything she can on Alzheimer's, including all the testing that is being done by scientists to this day.

Goodbye, Vitamin is told in a compelling diary form that chronicles the course of a year. Ruth's story is raw, intimate, funny, and tells a story about love, patience, and forgiveness.

It's hard to believe that this is Rachel Khong's debut fictional novel. She hit it out of the park with her brilliant storytelling in this heartfelt and entertaining novel.

*I want to thank NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this after reading the summary and while some of it had been enjoyable it just is chaotic with too many lulls. I did not finish. I got to about 41% before I threw in the towel.

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2035497615?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

The opinions are my own and do not represent any organization I am affiliated with.

It starts with a light tone. It's written in a diary form, peppered with letter-entries from her Alzheimer ridden father's diary from when she was growing up. As it usually happens with epistolary novels, the entries get longer and reveal more and more.

It's a natural progression, without any focus on deep feelings characters dwell on. What I found especially refreshing was that Ruth, the main character, did not take herself too seriously. The characters had their particularities, and this made them human and endearing.

Despite the initial light tone, there was the expected melancholy that was later seem in the notes Ruth made. She writes about the random and about the serious, about the quirky and about the deep things. The roles eventually reverse; she starts writing her father the things he did that day, just how he used to when she was little. The transition is bitter-sweet.

The novel is funny and insightful, with some moments that are so real they could only happen in real life. It's a novel of discovery and of letting go.

Short and a quick read, though not necessarily engaging.

Billed as following: "A young woman returns home to care for her failing father in this fine, funny, and inescapably touching debut..." All true. Ruth, 30, newly "disengaged from her fiance" returns home, promising to stay a year. Formatted by date--in the continuum of the year.

Told in a somewhat choppy style, this book is alternately humorous and bittersweet--after all, it is dealing with the onslaught and effects of Alzheimer's. There are many touching and revealing moments dealing with the steady decline of Howard Young, Ruth's dad, a former university professor. Most of these instances are in conjunction with Ruth's mom with whom she has a seemingly lesser relationship than with her dad. They buy cruciferous vegetables, which are supposed to help stem the steady pace of Alzheimer's. Install a second set of doorknobs--to prevent escape--the regular knob doesnt turn; a functional knob is set low. Move breakable items. And get rid of dark items and use nightlights as darkness causes confuction and dark colors may cause anxiety and appear threatening.

Ruth reunites with Bonnie, her best friend from college--these moments often are funny. Her younger brother, Linus, enters the picture. Theo, one of her dad's students adds a different note and two additional story lines.

Many wonderful descriptions and phrases. For example. " [I] ... wonder if the saying "To wear out one's welcome came about because of the mats. Did somebody visit somebody else so often that the WELCOME actually faded?"

Upon meeting an old acquaintance with young children: They share names with hurricanes--I don't know if it is intentional or what. This is Katrina and this is Sandy...even so young, their expressions look overcast."

And a section where "Sugar ants have crawled into the space between my laptop keys... [and become] my tiny advisers. I'll type, "What color blouse, and wait for an ant to come up. If it crawls out from "R" that means "Red"... and so on.

Many of the instances going back to her childhood--and her and her father's memories are quite lovely. I often verged on 3.5.

Often touching, I liked this book and as a debut novel, great potential. But not enough.

Things aren't going according to plan for Ruth Young. Her fiancé has left her for another woman and her mother has asked her to return home to help take care of her father, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

This book is quirky, funny, and at the same time, deeply touching. Ruth learns to take care of her dad while reminiscing about all the ways he took care of her when she was a child. Throughout her life, Ruth has put her father up on a pedestal and she has to deal with the realization that he is not a perfect man, and that is okay. As the book goes on and Ruth's father becomes more forgetful, Ruth has to learn to stop living in the past and enjoy what is right in front of her, today.

This story was so easy to relate to, as we all have to grow up and see our parents as individuals, not just as parents, with both good points and bad, just like us. The transition from child to caretaker of your parents is explored with humor and in a way that really makes you feel for these characters.

I really enjoyed this debut novel and look forward to reading more by the author in the future. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book; it is a pleasure to give my honest review.

Depressing but so full of love. One of 2017's best for sure. Great for book clubs.

What a fantastic book. It made me long for the last months I got to spend with my grandmother, and remember those sad times that could turn so funny based on stuff she'd say or do, that you had to take light hearted or else you'd lose all patience. I simply loved this story and its characters. 5 stars.

I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. The honest truth is, I was not ready to read this. I was drawn to the story of a woman whose father is in early stages of Alzheimer's due to a similar personal situation. I read this less than three weeks after losing my father to a neurological condition that made him unable to speak and eventually progressed into dementia.

I mention this because I expect that there's a link between my recent experience & raw emotion, and my somewhat negative reaction toward the novel. I considered not writing a review at all, but decided it may be helpful to someone. There may be others in a situation similar to mine, so instead will just say, please take this review for what it's worth. I'm sure many people are drawn to books about parents with Alzheimer's and dementia because we hope to draw something out of it to help us understand our own struggle watching our loved ones' slowly slip away. For me, this was somewhat difficult to get through. Ruth, the main character, agrees to quit her job and move in with her parents so that she can be her father's catetaker while her mother is working. It's written in an epistolary style, like journal entries, as we understand what is happening in her life over the course of a year. I think the coldness of that style made it hard for me to get into. I was also distracted by the practical improbability of how this 30 year old woman was able to drop everything and become a full time caregiver for her father. I will forever wish I could have done that for my father but where does the money come from? In reality, this is a very emotionally and financially draining disease and dramatically, the story works well, but practically it was hard to put myself in this character's place, after the path I have already walked.

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
Ruth comes home to spend a year helping to take care of her father. He is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. It is touching and loving the excerpts Ruth's father wrote to her about what she said and did as a young child. This book was sad but funny and it was lovingly written. As the months and days go by you get a sense that Ruth is not taking time for granted. She is storing up her own memory bank of her father as she spends time with him.

I liked that they tried to give him a class to teach. I don't know why the Head of Professors threatened police action for Ruth's dad if he visited the school he loved and taught at. It was nice that the whole family came together and it reminds me not to take time and those I love for granted.

Thank you to Net Galley, Rachel Khong and the Publisher for providing me with my digital copy for a fair and honest review.

4.5 Stars rounded up

There are moments of beauty, moments of laughter, many moments of sadness faced with the knowledge of what is to come, and recognition of what is now the past.

When Ruth comes home to help take care of her father who is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, it is partly an escape from the mess her own life has become, and a return to the comfort of home. A bittersweet return to her childhood home.

”What imperfect carriers of love we are, and what imperfect givers.”

We age together, our parents and ourselves; the process is so gradual that we rarely think about this. We realize, of course, that we are growing older, we may marry, or have children to remind us how quickly the days pass, but we don’t see our parents the same way. We look at old pictures of them and may vaguely recall that they used to look that way, but we don’t really see that. We see them as we’ve always seen them. Our caretakers. The people who raised us, and when the tables are turned, it’s a hard thing to recognize in someone you’ve known your whole life.

That Christmas, her father had given her a small, worn, red notebook, a notebook he’s kept notes in since she was very young.

”He showed me a page from this notebook: Today you asked me where metal comes from. You asked me what flavor are germs. You were distressed because your pair of gloves had gone missing. When I asked you for a description, you said: they are sort of shaped like my hands.”

These moments, these excerpts from this notebook are scattered throughout ”Goodbye, Vitamin” but there is much that sweetens the bitter truth of her father being robbed of his memories at the same time as she realizes how closely their memories are intertwined.

She reads everything she can on Alzheimer’s, what foods to eat and not to eat, what testing is being done on the subject, and in doing so she learns that scientists are now embedding false memories in mice.

”Why don’t they figure out how to keep mice from forgetting things? We don’t need more memories. It’s hard enough trying to get a handle on the ones we’ve got.”.

The notes her father wrote are ones that will pull at your heartstrings, remind you, perhaps of your parents, or how you view the little things your own children say and do, or did, or maybe memories of stories you heard your parents tell you about yourself… lovely memories, cherished ones.

This is a deliciously sweet story, with hints of sadness within, but it is never overwhelming, a reflection on love conquering even those moments of sadness and reminding us of how sweet memories can be.

Recommended.


Pub Date: 11 Jul 2017


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Henry Holt & Co.

A very quick easy read about one family's struggle with the slow decline of Alzheimer's.

Really loved how at first Ruth was reading the notes from her father and then near the end it switches to Ruth writing notes to her father.

Sad but also funny. Will be relatable for anyone with a loved one suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia. There is so much love in this story.

What imperfect carriers of love we are, and what imperfect givers.”



When Ruth comes home to help care for her father, afflicted with Alzheimer’s a beautiful family story unfolds. By no means are they are perfect family, but my heart capsized when reading the notes her father wrote about her questioning mind when she was a child.“You scraped seeds off of bagels and planted them in the flower bed out front. I didn’t have the heart to tell you that there’s no such thing as a bagel tree. Today I thought: I’m nuts- I’m just nuts- about you.” I was nuts about her, such a curious, spirited little girl! All children should know such love and attention. Ruth has always adored her father, but she has been blind to his failings in ways her brother and mother haven’t. For them, the later years weren’t full of a happy husband and father. Maybe her memories are distorted by her enduring adoration of her dad. There has been drinking and cruelties she escaped, and in coming home, with her father’s memories slipping, in his confused state she realizes he wasn’t the most loyal husband nor sober father.

College students rally together to make sure he is able to feel important again, teaching is vital to his happiness- and this is one of the sweetest fictions an author has conjured. The novel manages to expose the rawness of family love. It’s a slow understanding that is revealed about Ruth’s mother and father’s complicated marriage as she spends time with him and his slipping memories. Who is the young woman that seems more intimate than she should when in his presence? Why is her mother so angry and yet, she cares for him so tenderly that she expels anything that risks his health. Not that her father much appreciates his wife’s nurturing. She wants to understand why her brother Theo is so mad at their father, but maybe she needs to face her own shame in not coming home sooner.

It’s a hard novel to review for me because it’s not a flashy story. Nothing big happens but it is something enormous isn’t it? The betrayal of one’s own mind slowly leaving you, what is more horrible? Unlike many fictional stories, with this one- there are ups and downs. It’s a decline but a slow one, and often that is how illness has it’s grasp on a family- particularly with Alzheimer’s disease. Memories can be mean and bite, but they can be beautiful and moving. There is not one perfect character, but that’s what makes it honest. Something about this family tugged at my heart, and I fell for them. I was fattened up by a father’s love for his little girl, and the bittersweet pain of seeing your parents as human beings rather than gods. Lovely. Add this title to your summer list.

Publication Date: July 11, 2017

Henry Holt & Company

This was exactly the book I was looking for at exactly the time I needed it.

Let’s be honest: things are grim here in the United States right now. I’m having a difficult time tearing my eyes away from the news, and as a result, I’m constantly fluctuating between this sort of oppressive dread and all-consuming rage. (No one is inviting me to parties anymore, I wonder why?) I desperately needed a book that I could consume quickly, that I could easily read and get lost in, and that doesn’t require a significant amount of work on my end. Enter Rachel Khong’s Goodbye, Vitamin!

Somehow I have a feeling that this book will be an even more necessary distraction when it’s published in July. Hmm.

It’s a surprisingly light-hearted story for such a dark subject matter (our main character, Ruth, moves back home to help care for her father with dementia). I wish there had been more interaction with Ruth and her female friends—this weirdly felt like a really male-dominated book. My biggest complaint is that Ruth’s mother, Annie, isn’t a more fleshed out character. We were treated to some tidbits about Annie’s life that would have been fascinating to explore, and I also feel like Ruth’s father’s alcoholism and extramarital affairs with his students aren’t given the gravity they deserve. Though, to be fair, Ruth admits that she doesn’t want to think about her parents in these ways, and I can appreciate that honesty, even if as a reader I want more complex characters with depth.

This story relies more on heart and honesty than style and quality. Which is totally fine! I think a lot of readers will welcome that (though the book never felt quite balanced to me—an irritant but I’ll also admit that I’m very picky). The writing is a bit mediocre, but it’s heartfelt. And sometimes that’s what we need to read.

Fun, light read about dementia. What? In this unique novel, a thirty-ish woman does what family does and moves at the request of her mother when her father begins to exhibit signs of dementia. And like everyone else who experiences these horrible family tragedies - she also lives her life. I would recommend this to anyone attempting to kept perspective while finding themselves fulfilling the role of caregiver.