The Summer of the Great-Grandmother

Jill recommended that I read Madeleine L'Engle's book, The Summer of the Great-Grandmother. This book is partly a memoir of Ms. L'Engle's life, and partly a biography of her mother (the great-grand-mother of the title) and partly an account of the last summer her mother spent with Madeleine and her husband and son, and two of Madeleine's grandchildren at the family's home, Crosswicks.

It's a lovely tribute to her mother and to her father, who died decades earlier. It's also a compassionate and honest confession of the decisions made while caring for an elderly parent whose physical, mental, and emotional decline affect every family member. It could have been a sad book, but I found it very tender and hopeful.