Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The End of Your Life Book Club
    Unavailable
    The End of Your Life Book Club
    Unavailable
    The End of Your Life Book Club
    Audiobook9 hours

    The End of Your Life Book Club

    Written by Will Schwalbe

    Narrated by Jeff Harding

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    What are you reading?

    That's the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less.

    This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a "book club" that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Over the next two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion for reading. Their list jumps from classic to popular, from poetry to mysteries, from fantastic to spiritual. The issues they discuss include questions of faith and courage as well as everyday topics such as expressing gratitude and learning to listen. Throughout, they are constantly reminded of the power of books to comfort us, astonish us, teach us, and tell us what we need to do with our lives and in the world. Reading isn't the opposite of doing; it's the opposite of dying.

    Will and Mary Anne share their hopes and concerns with each other-and rediscover their lives-through their favorite books. When they read, they aren't a sick person and a well person, but a mother and a son taking a journey together. The result is a profoundly moving tale of loss that is also a joyful, and often humorous, celebration of life: Will's love letter to his mother, and theirs to the printed page.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 2, 2012
    ISBN9780449806647
    Unavailable
    The End of Your Life Book Club

    Related to The End of Your Life Book Club

    Related audiobooks

    Relationships For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Reviews for The End of Your Life Book Club

    4/5

    798 ratings131 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This has been on my shelf for YEARS until I recently listened to it on audio. 1/3 book discussion and 2/3 cancer memoir, Will Schwalbe really paints a vivid portrait of his mother, who seems like an incredible woman. This one lacks the sadness that may be too much for some readers. It's really a celebration of her life and love of people and books.
    • 5/5
      I initially rated this book a little lower because there were moments of slowness, but this book ultimately brought me and a few dear friends close together as we read this book for our own sort of book club. One particular friend read this shortly after he was diagnosed with cancer for the second time, and we were often able to refer to parts of this book to connect with our own lives and with one another. Any book that can change the way you talk about life and connect with another individual is worth all the praise.
    • 4/5
      This was a memoir. Will Schwalbe wrote his story about his experience with his mother. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

      He and his mother had always loved to read, so it seemed natural that they would begin reading and discussing the same books. They started their book discussions during her chemo treatments. While this book is not filled with indepth book discussions it does have many snipets of those conversations, which tends to be just perfect. Those snipet of conversations opens the door to his childhood memories of his mother and family.

      In between the chemo treatment/book club meetings we hear about a mother, grandmother, wife, sister, friend, humanitarian in a most delightful way. Mary Anne Schwalbe was a woman that loved and was loved.

      I liked that Mr. Schwalbe started this book by saying that he did not intend to write a book. He did not take notes and this is a book of his best recollection of conversations and milestones of his life with his mother.

      It is a fantastic story that I would recommend to anyone.
    • 5/5
      I'm so happy I picked up this book when I did. It came to me at just the right time. My dear Auntie Prudie passed it on to me on a recent visit. We have shared a life long love of books and talking about books. In fact, I give her credit for making me a reader. So many of the books referenced in Will Schwalbe's book are titles we've shared. I just can't get over it. I am so thankful for this book. And I am truly inspired by the life of Mary Ann Schwalbe and this beautiful book by her son.
    • 4/5
      I do commend Mr. Schwalbe on his ability to write so openly and honestly about the death of his mother. It is remarkable that he uses such a personal topic to illustrate the power of reading and how books can connect individuals and teach lessons across the generations. The style of the author really holds the narrative together; it is frank, simple and avoids sending the story into melodrama, yet it is reflective when the author imparts wisdom that he has discovered in his journey...and there are many of those moments through this book. The reason I did not rate the book any higher is probably a fault of my own expectations - - I was really thinking this was a book solely about the books that he and his mother shared, however it goes into a lot more detail about his mother's life and the events leading up to her death, with the books as one aspect of their lives together rather than the entire focus. I personally would have enjoyed it more if they actually did go into more detail about the books they shared and the conversations between mother and son about them, as I found those portions to be the most engaging (not to mention enlightening) aspect of the book. Still, as said before that is only a criticism of the work, and not of the author or of the experience that he graciously shared with us. This books comes recommended.
    • 5/5
      Rarely has a book had such a profound effect on me as this one. I selected it as part of a reading challenge. This was my choice for a book about books. I knew it was a risky read for me as my own mom had passed away from Pancreatic Cancer same as the author's. I love the bond of reading that Will and his mom share. It made me long to have someone close to me to share my own love of reading with. Few if any of my children have followed in my footsteps when it comes to a love of books. Perhaps one of my grandchildren will pick up the slack. This was way more than an end of your life book club. It discussed and explored Mary Anne's entire life. It pulled me in and implored for me to become more knowledgeable about the areas of the world that she traveled to. I know I will be delving more into those areas because her passion has ignited a spark in me. Over the past several years my reading standards have lowered and I found myself reading lots of books that while entertaining really did not fuel my desire to acquire more knowledge. This book has changed that. I highly recommend reading it.
      Of course the downside of this book is that the ending is obvious but it comforted me to know that she passed with much dignity and grace as one can. Trust me you will need tissues for it!
    • 2/5
      This book was well written and an obvious tribute to a mother who was loved and admired. However I found myself bored and forcing myself to pick it up and continue reading which is never a good thing when reading for pleasure. I chose to put it down unfinished.
    • 4/5
      This was a memoir of a son's experience with the cancer treatment for his mother. They decided to form a bookclub to talk about and read books during her treatment. It was interesting to hear their comments about certain books I'd read and appreciated knowing about books I haven't yet read. The heroine of the story was a remarkable woman and I can understand why her son would want to write about it.
    • 5/5
      As a reader of course I devoured this book for all of the book titles that were mentioned in its pages, but I also couldn't put this down because of the story it told. The author's mother has terminal cancer and decides to go through treatment for as long as it makes sense to. Together mother and son go to appointment after appointment and visit with each other, sharing their favorite books. They make a book club for two out of it, swapping titles back and forth and sharing how they feel about each one.There were some wonderful works mentioned here, which I have put on my own reading list, but it was the story of family and togetherness that touched me when reading this. This is yet another of those books that I have on my list of those I recommend to everyone.
    • 3/5
      When Mary Anne Schwalbe was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, she and her son Will started an impromptu "book club." The reader learns a little about the many books they read together, and a lot about Mary Anne and her humanitarian endeavors throughout the world. She seems like she was a remarkable woman, given the caveat that we learn about her through her son's naturally idealized viewpoint.It was a little hard for me to relate to a family that was so clearly economically privileged, but it was still an enjoyable book. Mary Anne seemed like she had more money and heart than intellect, because some of her insights seemed pedestrian (to my ear, which is tone-deaf on matters "inspirational" and "wise"). But of course the any reader will appreciate the long list of books they will want to read. Mary Anne's taste was varied and surprisingly middlebrow, so few of the books discussed sound intellectually daunting to read. Our book club agreed that the list of books read was the most valuable part of the book.
    • 3/5
      The author reflects on his relationship with his mother, particularly as she was undergoing treatments for cancer during the last years of her life. Their relationship was often centered around books and he discusses the books that they read together and how they helped them talk about some of the tougher issues of life.This was an OK read, not outstanding to me. Book lovers will definitely relate to it more than npn-book lovers.
    • 4/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was tender and loving and about the incredible bond between a mother and her son. I felt the author wrote beautifully about the last two years of his mother's life. He chose to focus on her life and incredible accomplishments rather than her diagnosis and impending death. I loved how his mother showed him important life lessons through characters and story lines in the books they shared. A few moments made me cry as I felt for the author and his siblings while they came to terms with losing the pillar of family. Very touching and well-written.
    • 4/5
      What a beautiful tribute to a powerful woman. The author and his mother decide to have a two person book club and read together an astonishing number of books during the end stages of his mother's life. She had lived a remarkable, inspiring life and her son captures much of her life in these pages- but it is the depth of her passion for helping people through the medium of books that held power for me. It reminded me of my father's passions and my reading to him when he was no longer able. I found a neat symmetry in the fact that my father's last book- the Kite Runner- was set in Afghanistan and her biggest passion was getting a library built in Afghanistan.
    • 5/5
      I bought this book for myself after Christmas, but I hesitated to pick it up. I've read many glowing reviews of it, and I was looking forward to the parts about the books that Will Schwalbe and his mother Mary Anne read and discussed together. I love reading about other people's reading experiences. But I was concerned that the book would be too sad. Will and Mary Anne began reading together after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. They often discussed the books they read while waiting for doctor's appointments or during chemotherapy. The cancer was treatable, but not curable. From the beginning, the family knew that Mary Anne would die. However, although the ending of this book is known from the beginning (which is ironic since Mary Anne always read the endings of books first), the journey is often hopeful. Will shows us what a gift each day with his mother is. She is truly a remarkable woman, and we learn about her life as Will uses the books that they are reading to spark conversations. The books they have read are woven into the story of their day-to-day lives, and their reactions to the books are often influenced by what's going on when they read them. This is a beautiful book that shows the power of reading together, of listening closely, and of cherishing every moment.
    • 5/5
      At times this book had me in a slight state of disbelief that a woman who is dying of pancreatic cancer could be so lucid and have such vivid recollections from things that happened years ago. But, as I read on and learned of Mary Anne Schwalbe's incredible passion and interest in human beings and all of our various human strengths and weaknesses, of her tireless devotion to the plight of refugees and women worldwide, I came to understand her as a person highly attuned to others (even as she was close to dying). She refused to give up her passions and wanting to know what more she could do to make the world a better place, right up until the end. And, of course, it is her son Will who articulates all of this to the reader. He taps into the passion that both he and his mother have for books and it is in this way that Mary Anne is able to keep her connection to the world through the lives of characters and settings. His writing about it conveys his deep love of both his mother and the the incredible insights that reading can bring to a life and how it can mitigate isolation and lonliness.One of the most poignant moments was near the end when Mary Anne receives a letter from David Rohde, a journalist who had been kidnapped and imprisioned by the Taliban (and who was a good friend of Mary Anne's). Among other things, he writes to her, "...In some ways captivity is easier than cancer. I could try to talk to them, at least, and appeal to their humanity. You can't have a conversation with a disease. Your courage through all of this inspires me."Overall, a great book that added more titles to my "want to read" list!
    • 4/5
      Everyone on the planet has reviewed this one, so I will try to make this brief. Will Schwalbe's memoir of reading books with his mother during her final struggle with cancer reminded me a bit (in the best way) of Reading Lolita in Tehran - it's a beautifully rendered paean to the power of literature to reflect our lives and strengthen our bonds to one another. It starts a bit slowly, but give Schwalbe time to hook you in; you will fall in love with his courageous, dynamic mother while filling your TBR shelves with too many books to ever deal with. Schwalbe made me think hard about the elements of a life well lived, about the place of literature in that life, and about the ways that we communicate with the people we love most when talking directly becomes too hard.(Also, about end-of-life care. Mary Anne Schwalbe is a pretty compelling case for heroic measures when a terminal illness has been diagnosed - so, something else for me to think about.)
    • 5/5
      Warning to readers with tight book budgets and access to a measly public library: This book will definitely make you hunger to spend on many, many more books! Mom had a five-star life story and the mother-son's book list is equally compelling, but Will's little bits fell a wee short in literary comparison. So very, very, very close to a 5 that I almost gave it a perfect score--Mom's inspiring story kept me honest though. A definite recommend!
    • 4/5
      Moving story of a brilliant woman and her son in the last years of her life.
    • 5/5
      A beautiful and life-affirming book. Although this is the story of a "book club" that started when the author started accompanying his mother to doctor visits after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, it is so much more. It's a conversation about the authors who have written of and shaped our world over the past 100 years; it's a tribute to reading; it's a call to action to do something about the injustices we see around us. But it's mainly a celebration-- of wonderful books, of a remarkable woman, of parents everywhere who instill in their children a passion for books. I'm thankful to my mom for passing on her own love of reading, and for giving me this book for Christmas, which I don't think I would have ever picked up on my own. There's a line in the book: "It's a book that I never would have read if so many friends hadn't told me that I must. But now I can't imagine not having read it." In a word, extraordinary.
    • 5/5
      The writing is average, the dialogue forced, but the story, the book discussion, the message is excellent. The premise of the story, that the author and his mother form a book club and discuss books during her chemo treatments is lovely. They discuss so many wonderful books, too, that I almost wonder why I'm reading about these books and not the books themselves. This premise alone is worth the book. But truly, this woman deserved to have a book written about her because she led such a rich and giving life, she did SO MUCH for so many people, that she deserved a book celebrating her life. This is a book I'd like to own, because I think I could come back to it again and again, both in part and in whole. So much of the book should be highlighted, too.

      Though I'm glad I read it now while the idea of a family member with cancer is not my reality, because if it was, this book would be VERY difficult to read.
    • 5/5
      Read from October 19 to 20, 2012Mary Anne Schwalbe was an amazing woman and I'm so glad her son decided to share their story. I took many notes on my phone while reading this one...which is new for me...but there was so much I wanted to remember (I read a library copy so no writing in this book!) and now SO much that I want to read. They discussed such a wide variety of books -- from literary to genre to nonfiction to poetry to short stories -- and had incredible conversations, many not about the books. Typical book club, right?Early in the book, Will writes "One of the many things I love about bound books is their sheer physicality. Electronic books live out of sight and out of mind. But printed books have body, presence." And how correct he is! I have at least a dozen books on either my iPad or my Nook that I've never read -- I forget they're even on there or it isn't charged when I want to use the device!Mary Anne's thoughts on "working mothers" and parents: "I think parents should do their best not to be unhappy. That's the worst thing for children--to have unhappy parents. If you want to work outside the home, you should. If you can afford not to and you don't want to, then you shouldn't."There are more things I'd like to share. Their discussion about being nice and being kind. Mary Anne's thoughts on healthcare and voting. It's just a wonderful read.Books I'd like to read and reread even more after finishing this one:People of the BookThe Tender BarCarry on, JeevesMarjorie MorningstarCrossing to SafetyA Prayer for Owen MeanyThe HobbitThe Kite Runnerand many more...
    • 1/5
      I am putting this one aside. I hear great things, but there simply is not enough of a plot for me to stay interested right now. Moving on to other things.
    • 2/5
      I truly wanted to like this book more. It's a great idea (although not entirely original at this point in the publishing world) and due to the subject matter, it's painfully close to the author's heart. The book has come out of a deeply personal, profoundly life-changing period of his life: the illness, and death of his mother. For me however, the prose was flat and uninspiring, and in the end, just not that peppy enough to keep me interested. I wish Will well though.
    • 5/5
      When Mary Anne is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer her son Will, along with other family and friends, accompanies her to some of her chemo and doctor appointments. When she asks him one day "What are you reading?" this simple question starts them off discussing books and the books that they each think they other should read. This begins their two person book club and a way for mother and son to connect over a shared pleasure and a way to make saying goodbye a little easier.This book made me cry, and cry and then cry some more. But it also made me think; about the way we treat people, how we interact with our families and friends and how we treat strangers.I originally didn't think I would like this. I figured it was another one of those books that I would hear people love and then when I get around to reading it I would find it cheesy or highly overrated. I got it out of the library after a friend gave it a high rating, but then I let it sit for almost the whole allotted three weeks. It is due back in two days and I am so glad that I didn't end up sending it back unread!
    • 4/5
      This a moving tribute by Will Schwalbe to his mother, who must have been a remarkable woman. As she faced death through pancreatic cancer the two of them formed a book club to discuss together the books that they read. I thought that it might have been a depressing book but Maryanne Schwalbe faced death the way she lived her life. She lived each day to the full, in the very best way that she could, showing great courage. Their combined insights into the books they read were full of great wisdom, wisdom for each of us to take with us into our own lives, and put in practise each day. An extra benefit of this book was to introduce me to other books that I had not read that I could now put on my list to read myself.
    • 5/5
      Wow. Excellent book, great tribute to a great woman. (And a great source of building material for Mt. TBR.)
    • 4/5
      A loving, poignant tribute to a much loved and admired mother! Structured around their book club of two, this retrospective of the experience of his mother's death touches on so many of the moments experienced by all who know they are losing a loced one, and yet retains the unique nature of their specific mother-son relationship! Wonderful read!
    • 4/5
      I love books about books and this memoir added the touching story of Will's relationship with his wonderful mother as she was dying of cancer. The read and discussed books as she waited for doctor visit and sat through chemotherapy. They both are the kind of people who read carefully and appreciatively and they used the books they read as templates for conversation.
    • 3/5
      This non-fiction book chronicles the last days of a mother who is dying of pancreatic cancer.I enjoyed reading about the different books that the mother and son read during the mother's last days. I was very impressed that they managed to read so many books in such a short amount of time. I also enjoyed some of the mother's comments on the books and life in general. She seemed like a very intelligent person.Despite the somber topic, however, this is one of the most matter-of-fact books I've ever read. I might have been reading a how-to book for all of the emotion it inspired in me. Part of this was due to the mother who was so saintly that I couldn't relate to her at all. There was also a lot of annoying name-dropping by the author.
    • 5/5
      Will Schwalbe has written a book about the last two years of his mothers life, and the books they read together during that time. This book is a very touching tribute to her. Each chapter is titled with the name of one of the books they read, and he does a fabulous job of comparing the books to what is happening with his mothers illness. I really found it more uplifting than sad, and I hope my boys do the same thing for me when my time comes.