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Book By Author: HD Greaves |
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| Title: |
Of Bliss and Granted Wishes |
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| Genre: |
Biography |
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| ISBN: |
9781301572991 |
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| Synopsis : |
Of Bliss and Granted Wishes is a true story of two remarkable individuals: Sophie and Sam Foster. The names are changed, but the locations are accurate, though not specifically identified, in Seattle, Washington.
Told in a non-linear style of recollected fragments and diary entries, the story spans the decades of their life together, from 1934, when they met (“as infants of thirty,” in Sophie’s words), through Sam’s loss of memory (diagnosed as Alzheimer’s) at the tender age of ninety-two, and concludes in the present.
Sam’s ebullience and mischievous wit blends with Sophie’s quiet mirth and wisdom, giving readers a rare opportunity to experience a sublime portrait, in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, of “people who really are excitingly happy” throughout their extremely long lives.
At the age of eighty-eight, to avoid retiring to a nursing home, they remodel their house and ask a family (mother, father, three young children, and a dog!) to move in with them. Never having had children or a dog of their own, this situation could have been catastrophic, but turns out as joyous discovery.
Filled with humor, rich with compassion, undying love, and a determined refusal to give in to decrepitude and illness, their story is proof that, in the words of Ireland’s great poet, Thomas Moore, “the heart that has truly loved never forgets.”
A review by a reader: Carol Berger’s review on Amazon, Smashwords, & Barnes & Noble 3-22-13
Of Bliss and Granted Wishes is a story of lives undimmed by Alzheimer’s. Far from maudlin or depressing, the story, which traces the lives of Sophie and Sam before and after he is stricken with the disease, is a story of love, hope, and commitment. It is a trip back in time to the decades of the 30’s on through to the start of the new millennium that most readers will relate to, as this most eccentric couple experiences not just themselves and the America of the time, but the world at large. Rife with humor as well as serious introspection, Of Bliss and Granted Wishes is a well-written book with one of the greatest first lines I’ve ever read: “There is something wrong with Sam.” It draws you in from those first words of Sophie’s until the most unexpected and satisfying ending, with the author very successfully juxtaposing the immediacy of Sophie’s diary entries with flashbacks to the past. What is most amazing is that this novel is based on the lives of two real people that the author knew. A wonderful and life-affirming read!
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Author: |
HD Greaves |
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