The Summer of Great-Grandmother

The Summer of Great-Grandmother chronicles Madeleine L'Engle's experience caring for her 90-year-old mother during one summer at their family home in Connecticut. As her mother's health declines, L'Engle documents the day-to-day realities while reflecting on her mother's life story. L'Engle moves between past and present, reconstructing her mother's journey from a Southern belle in Jacksonville to a young widow raising her daughter alone in France. The narrative explores four generations of family history, from L'Engle's grandmother to her own grandchildren who are present during this pivotal summer. Through this memoir, L'Engle examines aging, memory, and the complex bonds between mothers and daughters across time. The work stands as a meditation on how families face mortality while celebrating the stories and heritage that connect them.

Readers connect deeply with L'Engle's personal account of her mother's decline from arteriosclerotic dementia. Many find comfort and recognition in her portrayal of caring for an aging parent. Readers appreciate: - Raw honesty about family dynamics and grief - Historical context through family stories - Balance of present struggles with memories - Spiritual reflections without preaching Common criticisms: - Repetitive passages - Slow pacing in middle sections - Some find L'Engle's tone self-centered - Limited practical caregiving insights Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (1,200+ ratings) Amazon: 4.5/5 (50+ ratings) "Her words gave voice to exactly what I'm experiencing with my mother" - Goodreads reviewer "Too much naval-gazing and not enough story" - Amazon reviewer "The family history sections transported me" - LibraryThing review Most recommend it specifically to readers dealing with aging parents or processing grief.

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🌟 Though best known for A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle wrote this deeply personal memoir about her mother's descent into dementia during one pivotal summer at their Connecticut farmhouse, Crosswicks. 🌟 The book is part of L'Engle's "Crosswicks Journals" series, four memoirs that explore faith, family, and aging through different periods of her life at the family home. 🌟 L'Engle structured the narrative in four parts, mirroring the four generations of women in her family, weaving together past and present to create a rich tapestry of family history. 🌟 While caring for her mother, L'Engle discovered diaries and letters that revealed her mother's early life in Jacksonville, Florida, and her experiences during the Civil War era, adding historical depth to the personal story. 🌟 The author wrote this book in 1974, at a time when dementia and aging were rarely discussed openly in literature, making it a pioneering work in addressing end-of-life care and family dynamics.