I have been wanting to read this book, but have been reluctant to start it. But regardless, I do plan to read about it all over again someday, something very rare for me. That Ellen had to watch her mom deteriorate into an unrecognizable shell of her former self, then to be accused of a mercy killing to put an end to both her mom’s and her own suffering, was very difficult to read about. This was a lovely idea, and gave so much insight into their relationship and ideas about women. Early on, mother and daughter decide to form a book club so that they have something to share, reading Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, and Anna Karenina. The revelations about her mother’s stay-at-home life are surprising to Ellen as well. Gulden downright refuses to help in the care giving, Ellen learns what kind of man her father really is. Ellen always had a good relationship with her father, but felt she had little in common with her mother. Are our relationships really how we imagine them, or just a “vast web of misunderstandings, a tinted and touched up family portrait, an accurate representation of fact that leaves out only the essential truth”?Įllen has reluctantly quit her successful New York career to move in with her parents and take care of her dying mother.
Quindlen had me contemplating how I view my own family stories. And her writing is perfection beautiful enough to bring me to tears. She understands life, she understands death, grieving, and our complex human emotions. “Fiercely compassionate and frank.” - Elle This is a book of catharsis.” - The Denver Post “Like a brush with mortality, One True Thing leaves the reader feeling grateful, wide awake, lucky to be alive.” -Michael Chabon “We leave One True Thing stimulated and challenged, more thoughtful than when we began.” - Los Angeles Times Later, when Ellen is accused of the mercy killing of her mother, she must not only defend her own life but make a difficult choice-either accept responsibility for an act she did not commit or divulge the name of the person she believes committed a painful act of love. Yet as Ellen begins to spend time with Kate, she discovers many surprising truths, not only about herself, but also about the woman she thought she knew so well. A high-powered career woman, Ellen has never felt she had much in common with her mother, a homemaker and the heart of their family. Ellen’s father insists that she quit her job and return home to become a caregiver.
painstakingly uncovering all the intensity, suspicion and primitive love that bonds mothers and daughters.”- The Boston GlobeĮllen Gulden is enjoying her career as a successful magazine writer in New York City when she learns that her mother, Kate, is dying of cancer.
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