A gripping and informative account of how motor neurone disease affects an individual and their family.
This book should be required reading in every medical and social work school in the country as it gives a fictionalised account of the way motor neurone disease affects an individual. The individual is this case is Richard a renowned pianist who as the illness progresses loses the ability to first play the piano and then gradually loses the ability to do many of the tasks that we take for granted. Through Richard we learn how devastating this disease is and the difficult choices that sufferers have to make over quite a short period of time.
This leads to his moving back into the home that he shared with his now ex-wife, Karina, as she takes on the role of care giver alongside their daughter. Theirs had not been a happy relationship for a number of years due to his infidelities and to her having made the choice not to have any more children without telling him. However many of their problems are contained in the jealousy that Richard had for Karina who was a much better piano player when they met and the scorn that he subsequently had for her when she abandoned classical music for jazz.
Richard is not the most sympathetic of characters through perhaps the first two thirds of the book but as he begins to realise that time is running out for him he tries to apologise to both Karina and their daughter for his past selfish behaviour.
This is not an easy read on the emotions but I think that this is probably the books main strength in that it does not pull its punches.
This leads to his moving back into the home that he shared with his now ex-wife, Karina, as she takes on the role of care giver alongside their daughter. Theirs had not been a happy relationship for a number of years due to his infidelities and to her having made the choice not to have any more children without telling him. However many of their problems are contained in the jealousy that Richard had for Karina who was a much better piano player when they met and the scorn that he subsequently had for her when she abandoned classical music for jazz.
Richard is not the most sympathetic of characters through perhaps the first two thirds of the book but as he begins to realise that time is running out for him he tries to apologise to both Karina and their daughter for his past selfish behaviour.
This is not an easy read on the emotions but I think that this is probably the books main strength in that it does not pull its punches.