October 8, 2019 was the birthday of this 11th book.
This is a particularly special book. It is possibly the only memoir I will write; it is the second book I have written for adults (and the first was almost–gulp–twenty years ago).
It is also the book that I was looking for when I was housebound and caregiving.
Reviews have been posted, and I have given interviews and written blog posts and articles. I will post links to all here…
Most recently, a piece in Chatelaine:
https://www.chatelaine.com/living/books/dance-me-to-the-end-alison-acheson/?fbclid=IwAR3qD8bv6wv2oP8vgPatKUl35M0XJJA0JuEjbgA0VuED6_TA_FqvyWYhU3A
A blog post for All Lit Up, a wonderful blog for readers.
https://alllitup.ca/Blog/2019/Under-the-Cover-Writing-grief-in-Dance-Me-to-the-End#disqus_thread
And a VERY lengthy URL for an article in The Delta Optimist, about the Ladner Black Bond books signing:
https://www.delta-optimist.com/entertainment/als-caregiver-s-journal-turns-into-her-11th-book-1.23977563?fbclid=IwAR0dNwqzzLA2SZ2NyIn0laoqNi6OJplCXdGI_e4aPZSp_ptismXj-99nf8M
Review in Library Journal:
09/01/2019
Inspired by the Leonard Cohen song Dance Me to the End of Love, this lyrical debut memoir from Acheson (creative writing, Univ. of British Columbia; Learning To Live Indoors) captures life as a series of snapshots, as a couple grows simultaneously closer together and further apart in the wake of a sudden life change. Acheson shares dreams and letters, notes and journal entries from the months after her husband, Marty, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). She relates how Marty, a guitarist and music teacher, distracted himself with golf while she found solace in writing and reading. Alternating between hope and acceptance, Acheson recalls her decision to enter the role of caregiver, longing to remember who Marty had been and who he still was. Her prose shines when asking questions with no easy answers, including how and when to disclose to their sons and extended family. As people volunteer information and ideas, and as the family turns to fundraising, she considers the meaning of words such as struggle in relation to illness. For Acheson, caregiving requires humor, flexibility, suspending judgment—and the willingness to accept her husband’s end-of-life wishes. VERDICT A mesmerizing memoir by a talented writer on coming to terms with the unexpected.—Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal
Review by Sarah Murdoch, for the Toronto Star:
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2019/10/01/five-canadians-whose-books-youll-want-to-get-to-know-better.html
My second interview, for Mica Lemiski, of Fainting Couch Feminists:
The Storytelling Show, Vancouver Coop Radio, Sept 1 and Oct. 10:
