A poignant unveiling of one family’s experience with Alzheimer’s and the toll it takes on all of them
Cynthia Cook’s memoir of a family devastated by Alzheimer’s is touching, joyful, angering, and ultimately sad. With a combination of real and imagined narratives, plus text messages, and the reflections of a few sentient family heirlooms, What Really Happened to Marion and Candace is a portrait of heartbreak.
The book opens with self-aware reflections from treasured hand-made gloves and a quilt, both of which are in Marion’s possession. While Marion struggles with the worsening symptoms of Alzheimer’s, her sister Candace arrives with her husband Paul for a visit. The pair also intends to help Marion pare down her belongings. Marion is getting ready to move into the home her son Shane shares with his partner, Sunshine.
An incident with Sunshine’s hat—one that is retold from several perspectives—is just the opening salvo in a long, drawn-out, and bitter disintegration of a family. Each of the three re-tellings about what happened to the hat is completely different from the others, leaving the reader questioning which one—if any of them—is true. This further adds to the disorienting feeling of the book and strengthens Cook’s ability to show the terrible effects of Alzheimer’s realistically.
By including text exchanges between Candace and her niece Rhiannon, Cook shows just how close the family once was. Candace and Rhiannon’s conversations about Candace and Marion’s childhood, Candace’s children, and Rhiannon’s romantic relationships reveal plenty of backstory and moments of sincere love and affection among extended family members. It also makes the later fallout even more affecting.
The book’s organization feels disjointed if you’re expecting a traditional memoir. But it certainly deepens the reader’s understanding and experience of living or loving a family member with Alzheimer’s. What Really Happened to Marion and Candace is a slim book, and parts of it feel more like an outline than a full book. It would have been wonderful to see some of these text message chapters retold as conversations with enough context to make them memorable. Getting dropped into these conversations takes a while to get up to speed. Re-reading them is a necessity. Still, Candace’s anguish and sorrow are easily seen in them, and it’s hard not to feel affected by her awareness that things could have been different between her and her sister.
Cook’s essay chapters are emotionally engaging and resonate deeply. The vignettes strike at the heart in a way that’s vulnerable and real, making What Really Happened to Marion and Candace a balm for anyone who’s experiencing a similar diagnosis or fracturing of their family. Cook writes from a place of understanding that there will never be a satisfying ending with Alzheimer’s, and perhaps bearing witness to it is the most powerful thing we can do.
The post What Really Happened to Marion and Candace by Cynthia Cook appeared first on Independent Book Review.