Remember / The Company We Keep

 Remember by Lisa Genova

An interesting (non-fiction) book that looks at the science of memory: what we remember and why, and how and why we forget. She teaches techniques to improve memory, and there's some enlightening information about dementia and what we can do now to try to avoid it. Sketchy health and medical information comes at us from every direction these days, so it was nice to read something that made sense and sounded credible; with a Harvard degree in neuroscience the author is qualified to speak about these things. If you haven't read any of her fiction yet, check out Every Note Played, Left Neglected, Still Alice, Inside the O'Briens, and Love, Anthony. The stories center around characters diagnosed with different neurological conditions and are well-written and riveting, every one.      

The Company We Keep by Francis Itani

Three years after losing her husband, Lew, Hazzley is still trying to figure out who she is on her own. A spur of the moment decision has her pinning a notice to a grocery store bulletin board inviting people to a "Grief Discussion Group, Tuesdays 7-8:30 pm". 

Four people turn up: Gwen, widow of bullying husband Brigg, and now temporary caretaker of a persnickity parrot named Rico; Chiyo, a fitness instructor grieving the loss of her demanding mother; Tom, a dealer in antiques, writer of poetry, and widower of Ida; and Addie, a health administrator whose best friend, Sybil, is dying of cancer. Later they will be joined by Hallam, a Syrian refugee whose wife was killed in a bombing raid. Hazzley has no real plan for the group, hoping only for each one to tell their story so they can all hear how others cope with the many aspects and complications of loss.

Though the subject is grief, the tone is warm and uplifting. What these six grieving people find as they get to know each other is community, a place to listen and be heard, to accept and be accepted. A quiet book about people more than plot, it's a lovely story.