audiobook review: The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

narrated by Jeff Harding

The basics: When his mother Mary Anne is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Will Schwalbe accompanies her to her chemotherapy appointments. They form a two-person book club during these appointments, as they share their thoughts on life and literature.

My thoughts: A book about a mother dying might seem a peculiar choice to read while pregnant, but instead of it depressing me, I found it inspiring and filled with parenting advice. Will and his mother Mary Anne already had a close relationship before her diagnosis; the premise of this book is not a memoir gimmick. They share a life-long love of reading, but their discussions about what they're reading took a different turn as Mary Anne fought cancer. While this book is largely about their relationship with one another and with books, it's also a testament to Mary Anne, who was a truly extraordinary woman.

I was first drawn to Will recounting how his mother shaped his love of reading when he was a child. As an almost-mother who loves to read (obviously), I've spent a lot of time this pregnancy thinking about how to share my love of reading with the nomadbaby, and this book gave me many ideas, from childhood through adulthood.

While I found this book more inspiring than depressing, there is an undercurrent of death. We learn in the book's opening pages that Mary Anne does die, but as a reader, I shared her positive outlook: she lived a great life and had the gift of a diagnosis to let her know when her end was coming. She spent her final days, weeks, and months doing exactly what she wanted to.

The verdict: I utterly adored The End of Your Life Book Club. What could easily be a schmaltzy book instead was a charming, insightful tale of life and literature. Schwalbe uses his relationship with his mother to tell a story much bigger than the two of them. Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Length: 9 hours and 40 minutes (354 pages)
Publication date: October 12, 2012 
Source: library

Convinced? Treat yourself! Buy The End of Your Life Book Club from Amazon (Kindle edition.)

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