Can't we Talk About Something More Pleasant?

Locations
Call Number: 741.569 Ch, Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / General / Chast, Roz
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	741.569 Ch	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	741.569 Ch	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	741.569 Ch	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	741.569 Ch	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	741.569 Ch	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	741.569 Ch	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	741.569 Ch	4-week checkout	Due 05-18-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	741.569 Ch	4-week checkout	Due 05-17-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	741.569 Ch	4-week checkout	Due 05-16-2024
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / General / Chast, Roz	4-week checkout	On Hold Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / General / Chast, Roz	4-week checkout	On Hold Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / General / Chast, Roz	4-week checkout	Due 05-19-2024

"In her first memoir, Roz Chast brings her signature wit to the topic of aging parents. Spanning the last several years of their lives and told through four-color cartoons, family photos, and documents, and a narrative as rife with laughs as it is with tears, Chast's memoir is both comfort and comic relief for anyone experiencing the life-altering loss of elderly parents. When it came to her elderly mother and father, Roz held to the practices of denial, avoidance, and distraction. But when Elizabeth Chast climbed a ladder to locate an old souvenir from the "crazy closet"--with predictable results--the tools that had served Roz well through her parents' seventies, eighties, and into their early nineties could no longer be deployed. While the particulars are Chast-ian in their idiosyncrasies--an anxious father who had relied heavily on his wife for stability as he slipped into dementia and a former assistant principal mother whose overbearing personality had sidelined Roz for decades--the themes are universal: adult children accepting a parental role; aging and unstable parents leaving a family home for an institution; dealing with uncomfortable physical intimacies; managing logistics; and hiring strangers to provide the most personal care" -- from publisher's web site.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Not a Pleasant Subject, but an Important Book submitted by sdunav on June 16, 2014, 2:19pm Wow - this is amazing memoir about aging parents. The only parts I didn't relate to were the mom with the out of control temper (for me that was my dad) and the parts about Brooklyn.

The fact that this was largely in the form of graphic novel just works. Chast nails it, and the ending, with her non-cartoony drawings of her mother, left me in tears.

The photographs, especially of her parents' apartment & some belongings, and descriptions (especially of her father eating!) were pure genius. This is one of the best and most unique memoirs I've read in years.

graphic memoir submitted by camelsamba on July 4, 2014, 3:50pm Mostly memoir with a touch of advice column (the benefits of elder care lawyers, etc). As the title suggests, the topic is not really pleasant, but it is important: how to deal with end-of-life issues of aging parents. The most poignant parts were the photographs of items from her parents' house (especially the eyeglass and Shick shaver collections) but especially the sketches of her mother in her last months. Those are worth studying for the quality of line, but also to see how much character can be seen in a sleeping face.

A must read submitted by Lucy S on July 10, 2014, 4:02pm For anyone with parents. Funny, poignant and incredibly sad. And so honest.

Laughing and Crying submitted by Mary Ann Foggin on July 13, 2014, 8:52pm Best book I've read dealing with the reality of aging parents. Her "cartoons" are spot on, her ability to capture the personalities of both her parents at this incredibly vulnerable time in their lives and being honest about her own emotions give this book a seal of authenticity. If you've lived through getting parents into assisted living and caring for them at the end of their lives, you will find yourself laughing and crying as you read this.

More Pleasant submitted by hcf on August 30, 2014, 10:12pm Definitely something to read as one's parents are aging. The author pretty much hits the nail on the head with the various emotions one goes through during this time.

right on submitted by amy on June 29, 2015, 9:22am After going through the long and painful process of watching both my parents die, this was the perfect salve. Recommended for anyone about to go through, currently going through, or having just gone through this bewildering emotional, physical, and financial process. It is not pleasant, but Chast's memoir is so brave, often (but not too) tender, cathartic, and, above all, honest.

Funny and poignant submitted by tuttlium on July 13, 2023, 8:08am This book kind of wrecked me. Can't stop thinking about it.