Ponder: The End of Your Life Book Club

The End of Your Life Book Club ©2012 is a non-fiction novel, a genre I rarely read. The title is somewhat morbid and yet I was inspired to read it by one of my usual sources for book suggestions ... possibly the Reese Witherspoon Book Club or Amazon Editor's Choice? No matter, I decided to investigate it and was glad I did.

In it the author Will Schwalbe tells of the final months of his mother's life as she is dying of pancreatic cancer. Mother and son form a book club of two members and use reading and discussion of what they've read to pass away the long hours during her chemotherapy infusion treatments. The author's YouTube description of the book, explained of he and his mother that , "We didn't read only great books, we read casually and promiscuously and whimsically." The brief trailer, quite worthy of a listen, summarized it very aptly, "Reading is not the opposite of doing; it is the opposite of dying". The six page long appendix at the end of the book lists all the books they read or referenced. Many are too heavy and dark for my taste, several I have already read, some I would not want to read, but many were very enticing, indeed. The pithy excerpted passages they shared from many of the books were thought provoking.

Overall though, I was very impressed with the humanitarian and altruistic work Mary Ann Schwalbe did in her lifetime. Per wikipedia, as well as serving as Associate Dean of Admissions at Harvard University,

Schwalbe was a supporter of refugees cause in Thailand and later in Afghanistan. She was involved with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and was the Founding Director for the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, now known as the Women's Refugee Commission. During this time she also served as an electoral observer in the Balkans. She also raised funds for a library in Kabul and traveling libraries for Afghanistan.

I cared about the books they read together and the life lessons absorbed, but also I cared deeply about the impressive women and her close relationship with her son, the author, Will Schwalbe. Granted I skimmed rapidly through some portions of the book that were too heavy for my taste, but overall it was an educating and absorbing read. Because I did speed read through some passages, I oscillated in my rating between three and four stars. I did engage with the characters, resonated with the precepts, and highly respected the dying woman, and so I decided upon four stars.

★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience