Member Reviews

I am so thankful to have a chance to read this book. Elizabeth Berg is an exceptional author who realistically depicts families dealing with aging parents. She is empathetic and was able to make me feel I shared her journey. Thank you for a beautifully written, deeply moving memoir.

Was this review helpful?

I think this is a very realistic look at the problems in an aging population, and specifically in regards to dementia.
It's a poignant portrayal of a family responding changing roles of parents and children. Highly recommended.

Was this review helpful?

I have been a huge fan of Elizabeth Berg for many years and have savored her written word and related to so many of the stories. This one really hits home as I am dealing with pretty much the same things with my elderly parents. Some of the same feelings my mom has, I saw in this book along with issues my dad has. It’s sad but it’s also eye opening. We are not alone in this journey of aging. Some have gone before us with the exact same path and others will go behind us. I’m so glad Elizabeth wrote this as it does help to know we are doing the best we can in this journey and some of our thoughts and actions are being experienced by others going through the same. A very heartfelt read that I devoured as I felt like someone else was sharing my own current story.
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC

Was this review helpful?

I'll Be Seeing You by Elizabeth Berg is a memoir focused on 2010-2011 when she and her siblings were having to make decisions regarding the care of their elderly parents. Married for nearly 70 years, the pair needed help and a place to live more conducive to their needs. Berg detailed the difficulty in moving aging parents into assisted living, especially when one of the parents, her mother, was much more able to navigate than her father.

It was a very stressful year, especially for Elizabeth and her sister Vicky. There were many ups and lots and lots of downs in dealing with the parents. The mother was resentful, the father deteriorating into his Alzheimers diagnosis. Berg was encouraged to write this book as a help to others dealing with aging parents.

Elizabeth Berg, best known now for The Story of Arthur Truluv, is no youngster at age 70, as she admits she may have been witnessing what is ahead in the future for herself.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting September 12, 2020.

I’d like to thank Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Was this review helpful?

This is a brutally honest account of the author’s father being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The disorder affects the entire family, not just the victim. She writes about raw emotions that are always just below the surface of the facade shown to the world.
Any child who had the roles reversed and then became a carer for their parents will definitely understand what has been written in this book. I definitely identified with so much. There are many emotions that the carer goes through, sometimes all at the same time. Elizabeth Berg is a wonderful author of fiction and also a bright light in many days with her insightful blogs. This book is like a long blog to someone who needs to know that they are not alone when dealing with aging parents. This book is full of hope, heartache, love, forgiveness and grief. I recommend it strongly. Elizabeth Berg was told by friends to publish this to help others, and he will be. This book lets you know you are not alone and that your actions were done with love.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for allowing me to read the advance reader copy. My review is my own opinion not influenced by receiving the ARC. #IllBeSeeingYou #NetGalley

Was this review helpful?

I have long been a fan of Elizabeth Berg's writing, and this memoir was no exception. It was unlike any other similar books that I've read in its unabashed honesty. Ms. Berg lays bare her feelings and reactions to the difficult end-of-life decisions (whether large or small, they are all overwhelmingly difficult) that she and her sister (and other family members, but mostly the two sisters) must help her parents make. I felt her frustration and pain (with herself as well as with her mother and, to a lesser degree, father) and her love and forgiveness (of self, of parents).

As a 63 year old woman, I understand the 'between' place from which the author writes. Even though my circumstances are very different in almost every way (parents divorced when I was young, father never in the picture, mother passed away far too young, at 55), I recognize that sense of not recognizing who you see in the mirror, worrying about the coming years and how they will affect our children, etc. And as a daughter who had an up-and-down relationship with her mother once upon a time, I completely understood/empathized with that complicated relationship she captured so well on these pages.

I am appreciative of NetGalley for providing me the ability to read this most personal of Ms. Berg's work. My heart goes out to her and her family. What a gift this will be to others struggling with the same complex issues and feelings around losing a loved one, even while they're still with us.

Was this review helpful?

Elizabeth Berg is a wonderful author, and this memoir continues her string of books which are beloved. Berg chronicles the joys, frustrations and fears encountered by baby boomers in the stage of life where they care for elderly parents. While reading this book, it feels like one is sitting with a dear friend over coffee, discussing life's
challenges. Great read!!

Was this review helpful?

Berg writes a timeless, difficult, and touching book about dealing with a subject we all face- elder care. The difficult conversations, decisions, and actions that children have with their parents as the parents are unable to care for themselves. It's tough to witness parents' decline and the gamut of emotions it sparks. I thought I'll Be Seeing You was honest and forthcoming. It should be read by every person who faces elder care and all the predictable and unpredictable nuances that accompany it.

Was this review helpful?

This was such a wonderful memoir by Elizabeth Berg. She tells us how she and her sister manage and cope with her parents during aging and Alzheimer's.

I was primary caretaker of my mother (who lived with my family for 20 years after my father died) and for an Uncle after that. While neither of my family members had Alzheimer's, I was able to relate to this book so completely. I laughed and cried because of the realness of Ms Berg's story. There were times while reading, I said, "I wish I would have done or said something like that...".

As I am approaching the age where I am going to be the primary responsibility of my daughter, I want to prepare us both for what might be coming; specifically the changes in our relationship, and this book will help us navigate through those stages of life.

This is a wonderful book and I want to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in October 2020.

Was this review helpful?

Oh this was beautiful....gripping, emotional, and painful to read at times.... but also funny and sincere. Elizabeth Berg tells a short, beautifully written story of the decline of her aging parents and how her father’s descent into Alzheimer’s effected her parents relationship and her relationship with them. I related to this book on so many levels as someone who was a caretaker of an Alz patient for 9 years; I think this book will be a healing and emotional read for a lot of people, and I honestly enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would even if it did make me emotional at times. I only wish it had been longer.

4.5 rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Was this review helpful?

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. I was honored to be allowed to read Ms. Berg's latest book - I've read most of her novels and love her work.

This is such a beautiful memoir. Ms. Berg shares candidly about her experience with her parents as they grapple with no longer being able to live independently. She discusses vulnerable thoughts and feelings this creates for her. She also is able to empathize with her parents and try to understand how they feel. In the book she voices that she struggled with whether this was too personal to publish, especially in light of respecting her parents and siblings stories as their own to share. Her hope is to help others through similar situations. I am so grateful that she did share her and her family's experience; I think it will benefit many.

Was this review helpful?

There is not such thing as bad pizza and there is no such thing as a bad Elizabeth Berg book.
This is heartfelt, true. Berg has moments of frustration and her parents during their ailing and challenging struggles as they age. It surprised me she admitted that, but I appreciated the truthfulness and honesty. The love story between her parents is ginormous. Touching. Brave. This is such a sad story and yet at times it's lyrical and beautiful. It's mostly beautiful.. Because it's about life. And life for all it's ups and downs and hurts and wins, is beautiful.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I appreciate it.

Was this review helpful?

Taking care of our vulnerable, aging parents is full of highs and lows, and Elizabeth Berg perfectly captures them all, in this book that is a chronicle of some her parents' last years, as well as a tribute to them and their great love for one another. The author manages to share all her feelings -- even the ones that make her look petty or ugly. She doesn't hold back on the positive or the negative aspects of her parents' life and care, and that is why we can really relate to her and her family. By sharing her story, not holding back the blemishes and flaws, she gives us permission to be a little bit imperfect, to be human, and to do the best we can. She's not trying to give advice, but still, we learn from her anyway. What an honest, uplifting portrayal of shepherding a family through this very difficult process. It was not a sad book, I hope I'm not making it sound that way (although I did have a good cry at one or two passages toward the end). I cannot wait to recommend this book. Thank you, Elizabeth Berg.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review. I love Elizabeth Berg and was excited to see that she was coming out with a nonfiction title. This memoir could easily have been depressing, as it was about her caring for and dealing with her elderly parents as her father’s health declined. However, there was a much-needed dash of humor and hope that made the book feel just beautiful and hopeful rather than maudlin or morbid. The writing was superb, as it always is in Berg’s books. I hope the author writes another memoir, one about her own life independent of her parents. 4.5/5 stars!

Was this review helpful?

I have read many of Elizabeth Berg's, and loved many especially her Mason Series!
I look for her books wherever I go, some are hard to find.
I was excited to see new release coming and then to be granted early access by publisher thrilled me.

Diary of her parents' decline, reflecting on them as they lose power, independence, and their home.
More importantly this is their love story, overcoming all obstacles to reach deep, complete love.

I enjoyed this story, I enjoyed getting to meet and know this family.
I recommend this book to all, a good read!

Was this review helpful?