The Hero of This Book by Elizabeth McCracken

 

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @eccobooks for the review copy of The Hero of This Book by Elizabeth McCracken.

Who is your personal hero?  I have a lot of family members that have meant a lot to me through the years.  My grandparents and great-grandparents have been my heroes and my Great-Aunt Delores was a hero.  I’ve learned from them all and have hopefully become a better person.

Elizabeth McCracken’s hero was her mother.  Their relationship was fraught at times, but she played an important role in her life.  Some of her life lessons were not realized until she was gone. In The Hero of This Book, McCracken’s memoir explores a trip that she took to London after her mother’s death.  As she travels around town, it brings back memories of a previous trip she had made with her mother to London.  McCracken works through her grief as she remembers both the good and the bad about her mother.

I found the memories and vignettes to be interesting and touching.  The revelations of the strength that her mother had in order to live with a disability were revealed little by little as the story progressed.  The format of the book was interesting as well as the author puzzles about the writing process and what make up a memoir.  Is it respectful to write about someone that is gone if they never wanted to be written about?

Look for this book on its publishing date of October 4th.

Favorite Quotes:

“Bereaved.  That I’d own up to.  Bereaved suggests the shadow of a missing one, while grief insists, you’re all alone.  In London I was bereaved and haunted.”

“We all have our memories, and a memoir is one person’s.  What’s the difference between a novel and memoir?  I couldn’t tell you.  Permission to lie; permission to cast aside worries about plausibility.”

“’You’re a good kid.  You must have a wonderful mother.’  That wasn’t the last thing she said to me, but it was close.”

Review Copy from Harper Collins as part of the Bibliolifestyle Book Tour.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.