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The Man Who Left
by
Theresa Weir (Goodreads Author)
THE MAN WHO LEFT is about the importance of fathers. It's about the men who leave, and the men who stay.
It's a familiar story. Father leaves his wife and children and never looks back. Theresa Weir was five when her father left his family for a better life with a wealthy socialite. Many years passed with only occasional and grudging contact by Theresa's father. When Theres...more
It's a familiar story. Father leaves his wife and children and never looks back. Theresa Weir was five when her father left his family for a better life with a wealthy socialite. Many years passed with only occasional and grudging contact by Theresa's father. When Theres...more
Paperback, 238 pages
Published
March 21st 2012
by Belfry Press
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Theresa Weir can write.
Coleridge said, "I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is prose; words in their best order;-poetry; the best words in the best order."
Quaint punctuation aside, this sentiment applies to Weir's work. It may be prose, but she chooses the best words and puts them in the best order. I forget I'm reading when I read her books. I get lost in the story, and that's true of her memoirs as well as her fiction.
The Man Who Left i...more
Coleridge said, "I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is prose; words in their best order;-poetry; the best words in the best order."
Quaint punctuation aside, this sentiment applies to Weir's work. It may be prose, but she chooses the best words and puts them in the best order. I forget I'm reading when I read her books. I get lost in the story, and that's true of her memoirs as well as her fiction.
The Man Who Left i...more
I don't know why I gave this book 4 stars. Should it have been 5? Or 2? Different kind of read for me. Left me feeling a little creepy on the order of The Lovely Bones making me feel nauseous, creepy, disgusted and determined never to read such a horrid book again. But this is The Man Who Left. Treatise on Alzheimer's, deadbeat dads, abusive parents, etc. I would not be interested in reading anything else by the author.
This book just broke my heart. In a world of disfunctional families, this family gets the top award. And yet the author does not wallow. She moves from one painful childhood scene to another, letting us feel her confusion and helplessness, without asking for sympathy. Interwoven in those painful memories, is the present, as she tries to reconnect with the father who left them, now an old man who doesn't even remember who she is at times. The answers she so desperately seeks are buried in the mem...more
An enjoyable read. Both sections or timelines were compelling: the narrator as a youngster and later in life as a married woman with her own family suddenly thrust into the role of caring for an ailing father who was never there for her when she was a child. This creates great tension. And the fact that Weir's father is suffering from alzheimer's and can't be held blamed or reproached for the heart-wrenching things he often says adds another layer. My only criticism is that the book is short. To...more
Memoirs are stories, and Theresa Weir is adept at sharing her own. The Man Who Left can be read as a stand alone, but it can easily be considered a companion memoir to her critically acclaimed The Orchard. This is not a happy book, but it's an honest and emotional account of Alzheimer's and absence that I highly recommend.
I love non-fiction that feel like fiction and this one certainly took the tiger by the tail. Quite unusual and I would like to read more by this author.
Good book. I was reminded of some of the stupidity I encountered as a child, so that's always nice.
The book was quite well written but I found the subject matter sad and disturbing.
A memoir about growing up with an abusive mother and stepfather and surviving.
* I received a complimentary copy of this book through a First Reads Goodreads giveaway. * I would rate this book somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.
The Man Who Left is a companion book to The Orchard, Theresa Weir's highly acclaimed first memoir. Theresa Weir is a good writer - the book reads like a fictional story but unfortunately for me, I felt that the content wasn't particularly engaging. I had a difficult time picking it up night after night because it never really hooked me.
At the end of...more
The Man Who Left is a companion book to The Orchard, Theresa Weir's highly acclaimed first memoir. Theresa Weir is a good writer - the book reads like a fictional story but unfortunately for me, I felt that the content wasn't particularly engaging. I had a difficult time picking it up night after night because it never really hooked me.
At the end of...more
A wonderful follow-up to The Orchard. Left me wanting more.
May 24, 2012
Kelsey Wilcox
marked it as to-read
Shelves:
abandoning,
bucket-list-books,
captivating,
cool-cover,
family-life,
freaking-awesome-cover,
inspirational,
interesting,
must-must-must-must-read,
must-read,
must-read-or-will-die,
my-favorite-topics,
real-life-problems,
really-really-want-to-read,
really-want-to-read,
this-book-should-have-my-name-on-it
I've gotta read this! I love these types of books! :-)
I enjoyed reading "the man who left." The book kept me captivated from beginning to end. Theresa did a wonderful job bringing me into her world, the visit with her dad, and all of the memories and emotions that can bring about. I like how it also points out the fact that in forty years almost nothing had been done to overcome and eliminate (or at least successfully slow down) alzheimer's. I would (and am) reccommending this book to my friends and family.
$0.0
I really liked this book. It was dark and sad, but I read it pretty much in one sitting.
![Michelle [Helen Geek]](http://d.gr-assets.com/users/1350347351p2/5557851.jpg)
Free on Amazon 04/15/2012.
Not a fan of this one
May 20, 2013
Maria
marked it as to-read
May 03, 2013
Mom
marked it as to-read
Apr 26, 2013
Natalie Kuthy-merritt
is currently reading it
Apr 08, 2013
Maria Hooley
marked it as to-read
Mar 28, 2013
Laura
marked it as to-read
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Theresa Weir (a.k.a. Anne Frasier) is an award-winning NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR of twenty-three books and numerous short stories that have spanned the genres of suspense, mystery, thriller, romantic suspense, paranormal, and memoir. Her titles have been printed in both hardcover and paperback and translated into twenty languages. Her memoir, The Orchard, was a 2011 Oprah Ma...more
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