Counting backwards / Binnie Kirshenbaum.
Summary:
"A middle-aged couple struggles with the husband's descent into early-onset Lewy Body dementia in this profound and deeply moving novel shot through with Kirshenbaum's lacerating humor. It begins with hallucinations. From their living room window, Leo sees a man on stilts, an acting troupe, a pair of swans paddling on the street. Initially, Leo believes the visions are related to visual impairment-they are something he and his wife, Addie, can joke about. Then, he starts to experience occasional, but fleeting, oddities that mimic myriad brain disorders: aphasia, the inability to perform simple tasks, Capgras Syndrome, audial hallucinations he believes to be real. The doctors have no answers. Leo, a scientist, and Addie, a collage artist, had a loving and happy marriage. But as his periods of lucidity become rarer, Addie finds herself less and less able to cope. Eventually, Leo is diagnosed with Lewy Body disease. Life expectancy ranges from 3 to 20 years. A decidedly uncharacteristic act of violence makes it clear that he cannot come home. He moves first to an assisted living facility and then to a small apartment with a caretaker where, over time, he descends into full cognitive decline. Addie's agony, anger, and guilt result in self-imposed isolation, which mirrors Leo's diminished life. And so for years, all she can do is watch him die-too soon, and yet not soon enough. Kirshenbaum captures the couple's final years, months, and days in short scenes that burn with despair, humor, and rage, tracking the brutal destruction of the disease, as well the moments of love and beauty that still exist for them amid the larger tides of loss"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781641294683
- ISBN: 164129468X
- Physical Description: 392 pages ; 22 cm
- Publisher: New York, NY : Soho Press, Inc., [2025]
- Copyright: ©2025
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Married people > Fiction. Lewy body dementia > Fiction. Love > Fiction. Despair > Fiction. |
Genre: | Psychological fiction. Domestic fiction. Novels. |
Available copies
- 9 of 16 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
- 0 of 1 copy available at Madison County Public Library.
Holds
- 2 current holds with 16 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mars Hill Library | FIC KIR (Text) | 30229101387222 | Adult New Fiction | Checked out | 04/29/2025 |
Summary:
"A middle-aged couple struggles with the husband's descent into early-onset Lewy Body dementia in this profound and deeply moving novel shot through with Kirshenbaum's lacerating humor. It begins with hallucinations. From their living room window, Leo sees a man on stilts, an acting troupe, a pair of swans paddling on the street. Initially, Leo believes the visions are related to visual impairment-they are something he and his wife, Addie, can joke about. Then, he starts to experience occasional, but fleeting, oddities that mimic myriad brain disorders: aphasia, the inability to perform simple tasks, Capgras Syndrome, audial hallucinations he believes to be real. The doctors have no answers. Leo, a scientist, and Addie, a collage artist, had a loving and happy marriage. But as his periods of lucidity become rarer, Addie finds herself less and less able to cope. Eventually, Leo is diagnosed with Lewy Body disease. Life expectancy ranges from 3 to 20 years. A decidedly uncharacteristic act of violence makes it clear that he cannot come home. He moves first to an assisted living facility and then to a small apartment with a caretaker where, over time, he descends into full cognitive decline. Addie's agony, anger, and guilt result in self-imposed isolation, which mirrors Leo's diminished life. And so for years, all she can do is watch him die-too soon, and yet not soon enough. Kirshenbaum captures the couple's final years, months, and days in short scenes that burn with despair, humor, and rage, tracking the brutal destruction of the disease, as well the moments of love and beauty that still exist for them amid the larger tides of loss"--
Skip NoveList Content
Skip Similar Authors Content
Similar Authors
These authors' works have the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "divorced women," "self-fulfillment," and "women authors."
These authors' works have the genres "psychological fiction" and "love stories"; and the subjects "divorced women," "extramarital affairs," and "women."
These authors' works have the genres "psychological fiction" and "mainstream fiction"; and the subjects "divorced women," "extramarital affairs," and "women authors."
These authors' works have the genres "psychological fiction" and "literary fiction"; and the subjects "jewish american women," "divorced women," and "jewish women."
These authors' works have the genre "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "divorced women," "men-women relations," and "self-fulfillment."
These authors' works have the appeal factors darkly humorous, and they have the genres "psychological fiction" and "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "women," "women authors,"...
These authors' works have the genre "psychological fiction"; the subjects "extramarital affairs," "married people," and "female friendship"; include the identity "jewish"; and characters...
These authors' works have the genres "psychological fiction" and "mainstream fiction"; and the subjects "extramarital affairs," "self-fulfillment," and "women authors."
These authors' works have the appeal factors darkly humorous, and they have the genres "psychological fiction" and "literary fiction"; and the subjects "extramarital affairs," "women,"...
These authors' works have the genres "psychological fiction" and "mainstream fiction"; and the subjects "divorced women," "extramarital affairs," and "women authors."
These authors' works have the genres "psychological fiction" and "love stories"; the subjects "extramarital affairs," "nervous breakdown," and "married people"; and include the identity...
These authors' works have the genres "mainstream fiction" and "relationship fiction"; and the subjects "extramarital affairs," "women authors," and "psychiatric hospitals."
Skip Story Finder Content
Story FinderMix and match elements from this book to find others you might enjoy.
Skip About This Book Content
About This Book
Readers Reviews
Loading...
Counting backwards in NoveList
Catalog enrichment powered by NoveList, with additional content provided by Baker & Taylor.