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The Long Goodbye

The Long Goodbye 5

by Pamela Parker and PJ. Parker
Paperback
Publication Date: 01/04/2016
5/5 Rating 5 Reviews

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"On 13th October my father killed my mother". And so begins this extraordinarily, moving and powerful memoir of an Australian family. Spanning three generations of a rural Queensland farming family, The Long Goodbye is an unforgettable story of love and loss by an outstanding new writer of originality and remarkable skill. When Pamela's ageing mother succumbs to advanced dementia and the family attempts to care as best they can for her, it is her father who takes matters into his own hands and ends her mother's life before taking his own life several weeks later. The Long Goodbye takes you into the life of this family, revealing the grit and resilience which has always driven them, as well as the love that binds them together through the years. At times hilariously funny, at times tragic and shocking, The Long Goodbye is ultimately a grand story of love and the unbreakable bonds of marriage and family set against the harsh and unforgiving realities of life on the land. Disastrous floods, drought, and farming accidents mean that life and death are never far apart. The Australian landscape is evoked in all its beauty, but its danger is inescapable. Pamela writes with incredible honesty and warmth about her own parents, grandparents and extended family, their celebrations, their wit and great humour while never shying from the dark truths and difficult struggles that plague them too. The Long Goodbye illustrates the devastation of dementia and its terrible consequences for an entire family, as well as her father's controversial and unspeakable solution in euthanasia.The Long Goodbye is a true story of impossible beauty and sadness, and the story of a remarkable love that could be no other way.
ISBN:
9781743791363
9781743791363
Category:
Biography & True Stories
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
01-04-2016
Publisher:
Hardie Grant Books
Pages:
288
Dimensions (mm):
234x153mm
Weight:
0.37kg

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5 Reviews

This wonderful book was a page-turner for me! I found it difficult to put down. Being in my late 70's with a rural background and parents already gone, everything resonated. I enjoyed the unique writing style, the honesty, humour and lightness. Also the tenderness. A courageous, brilliant work. More please ...

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This is one of the most compelling books I've ever read. The impetus to write it was her mother's death (in very old age and suffering with dementia) at the hands of her father. The book is not just another "misery memoir" though; it is also, the story of three generations of a family on the land (in Queensland), their lives evoked - quite strikingly - using the techniques of fiction. This book has real - indeed great - merit. And I believe it is one that may even garner some prizes...

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Very authentic descriptions of North Queensland and the family situation. Such bravery!

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