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Making Toast

3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 · rating details · 2,500 ratings · 680 reviews

"How long are you staying, Boppo?"

"Forever."

When his daughter, Amy--a gifted doctor, mother, and wife--collapses and dies from an asymptomatic heart condition, Roger Rosenblatt and his wife, Ginny, leave their home on the South Shore of Long Island to move in with their son-in-law, Harris, and their three young grandchildren: six-year-old Jessica, four-year-old Sammy, and...more

Hardcover, 176 pages

Published February 16th 2010 by Ecco Press (first published 2010)

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Jan 30, 2013 Roxanne rated it 3 of 5 stars

I thought I would love this book, but I had a big problem getting over a few issues.

I understand the feelings of unfairness in Amy's death, but like the nanny stated, they had resources that few people in their same situation had. They were better equipped in many areas than others. Rosenblatt does address this somewhat at the very end of the book, but I wish it would have come earlier.

Names, names, names. I zoned out when new people were introduced. Rosenblatt continued this throughout the ent...more

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Jun 19, 2010 Barbara Mader rated it 2 of 5 stars

Tough to rate this one. I wanted to like it more than I did; maybe it just wasn't what I expected. The tone is very restrained, which I tend to like and did like up to a point, but it also seemed like he was afraid of his subject matter, and couldn't be as honest as he probably should have been (if you're going to get it at all right, I think you have to be fearless). The quality of the writing itself seemed OK, but he came across as emotionally underdeveloped and rather narcissistic. It doesn't...more Tough to rate this one. I wanted to like it more than I did; maybe it just wasn't what I expected. The tone is very restrained, which I tend to like and did like up to a point, but it also seemed like he was afraid of his subject matter, and couldn't be as honest as he probably should have been (if you're going to get it at all right, I think you have to be fearless). The quality of the writing itself seemed OK, but he came across as emotionally underdeveloped and rather narcissistic. It doesn't hold a candle to Didion's Year of Magical Thinking (imo).

He does idealize his daughter; of course I get that. But it made her a two-dimensional figure.

The other quibbles I have are more to do with his, well, seeming immaturity, or narcissism, not his writing. This guy has been incredibly fortunate all his life--money, health, brains, education, smart and successful kids, and apparently a wife who has kept his personal life easy and comfortable and acted as a buffer between himself and any emotional hardship. In the book he writes about his perfect daughter; his good-looking and amazing but not quite perfect wife; his perfect sons and perfect son-in-law; the perfect marriage and life his daughter had; his perfect, brilliant, motherless grandchildren. And he himself is very clever and intelligent and has famous friends and so is very important.

His daughter's death at age 38 is completely unfair. Yes. It is. But even though it is clear he knows others who have suffered the death of a child, he still seems to think that he was too special to have had any cloud on his horizon, let alone something like this, that other people may have to suffer but he does not. It kind of got to me after a while. I think this guy thinks his daughter's death was a personal insult directed at him and his family. I kept thinking of people I knew whose children or spouses died. None of them had the sort of resources these people have, with their money, their nanny, their large homes, the grandparents moving in for a year to help with the children, the wealthy and famous friends. It's great for this family they do have those resources. But what about the single working mom or dad who earns maybe 35K/year and is juggling all the things they're juggling, all by herself, or himself? Heck, this family has four adults living with three kids, and seemingly unlimited amounts of money. They have the means and know-how to do whatever is necessary to help themselves and the children through this.

As someone who constantly thinks of how fortunate I've been in life thus far, yet knowing it could all change in a moment, I began to wonder his this guy ever thought that way at all. Didn't he ever think, during all those years and decades of good fortune, "I have been so lucky, so fortunate thus far. We are so fortunate. I must remember to be grateful for all these years of joy." I know this sounds cold; his daughter is dead, and probably I am being too hard on him. But honestly, toward the end of the book I was really starting to get annoyed with his seeming inability to be just one of billions in an unfair world. Only in the very last bit did he finally address some of this stuff, admitting he had lived a charmed life until this happened, that he really has no clue how to deal with the reality of the world.

I guess I could summarize my opinion of the book something like this: This is a book written by a man whose daughter died at age 38. She was survived by a husband and three young children and two brothers and a mother as well as her father. The father is a pretty good writer who seems never to have really looked at the hard things in life, having been spared them up to this point. He is angry that his perfect daughter's life has been cut short and that his own perfectly happy life has been tarnished, but seems unable to move deeply into his feelings (or else to convey those feelings in the book), and he seems very unwilling to do the difficult work required to grow up in this area of his life. He writes a little book, episodic and loosely organized (and not a little self-congratulatory) about his daughter and family to help himself feel better. He doesn't seem to have really learned much from any of it, but he is not a bad guy, just seems lacking in insight.

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Mar 11, 2012 Tatiana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

In Making Toast, Roger Rosenblatt chronicles less the untimely death of his adult daughter, Amy, and more the life that occurs afterwards, when he and his wife, Ginny, move in with their mourning son-in-law and three grandchildren. Written in observational snippets, the narrative moves quickly, offering little by way of explicit, this-is-how-you-should-deal-with-death advice; its power is in the confirmation that everyday existing continues after tragedy.

I also derived the theme of shared grief...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Cindy Knoke rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a moving book about love, loss, and family. Most of all about love and a remarkable family. Rosenblatt's daughter died suddenly leaving behind a husband and three young children. Rosenblatt and his wife, a retired schoolteacher, pull up stakes and move in with their son in law to help him raise the grandchildren and cope with their collective grief.
You end up very impressed with this family, their commitment to each other, and their strength in facing devastating grief.
Rosenblatt finds...more

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Feb 27, 2010 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-mt-bookpile

I understand why people write books after the death of a loved one: it's cathartic. I'm less understanding of why we read them. If we don't know the people involved, what's the gain? Is it that we hope we'll handle our losses with more dignity? That death will be comprehensible? I really don't know...

This slight series of pensees (too short to be essays, not coherent enough to be anything more) doesn't offer much in the way of spiritual guidance. Rather, it's simply a father trying to make sense...more

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May 04, 2013 Lynne Spreen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: midlife

When Roger Rosenblatt's daughter, Amy Rosenblatt Solomon, died at 38, Roger and wife Ginny moved into the "mother-in-law's suite" of Harrison Solomon's house to help care for and provide loving continuity for the kids. Making Toast is an account of that period.

I came to know of Roger Rosenblatt through his essays on The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour on PBS. Now, I was curious as to how the Rosenblatts' lives changed with this new role, how they adjusted, what they did every day, how they envisioned t...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Angela Risner rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the story of Rosenblatt and his wife coming to the aid of their son-in-law and grandchildren after their daughter dies unexpectedly. While the premise is definitely sad, this book is very uplifting.

First of all, it reminds all of us that life does go on. No matter what happens in our lives, time does not stop, although I know we often wish it would.

The three young children will still need to be bathed, fed, and loved. So Rosenblatt and his wife move in with the family to try and help kee...more

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Apr 11, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, memoir, death, grief, grandparents

Rosenblatt's adult daughter Amy collapses and dies from a rare heart condition at the young age of 38. Amy has left behind an active life, as well as 3 small children (6, 4 and 1) and her husband, Harris. Upon Amy's death, Rosenblatt and his wife Ginny move in with Harris and the children, in order to help with affairs and be closer to the family. But it has been years since either of them has been around small children. Boppo and Mimi (as they are known to the kids) quickly readjust to parentin...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Nancy Kennedy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Roger Rosenblatt's account of his family's life following his daughter's sudden and tragic death is simply exquisite. His prose is spare and his material artfully chosen.

Mr. Rosenblatt and his wife move in with their son-in-law to care for their three grandchildren after their daughter Amy dies of a rare heart condition in her late 30s. The daily tasks of raising young children -- making toast -- helps to assuage their sorrow. But he makes clear that even if their gaping wounds gradually heal, "...more

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Oct 15, 2011 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Writer and professor Roger Rosenblatt has written a poignant memoir of life a few months after the death of his daughter. Dr. Amy Rosenblatt Solomon was 38 years old when she collapsed on her treadmill. She had a rare and undiagnosed heart ailment and died suddenly in front of two of her young children. She left 3 children ages 6, 4 and 1. This slim book reads like a painful journal. Rosenblatt and his wife, Ginny move in with their son-in-law (also a physician) and share in the care of the 3 ch...more

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Oct 04, 2011 Gail rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this short memoir, which was a fairly quick read. The reason the book was written is tragic: the author's daughter died abruptly (and very unexpectedly) of an undetected heart defect at the age of 38, leaving a husband and three small children. The author and his wife immediately moved in with their son-in-law to help raise the kids. This book details their day-to-day life, which required a huge change in their routine as well as their living conditions. Everyone copes with the sudden...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Marcela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a book I’d strongly recommend to anybody that has lost a loved one whether it was recently or a couple of years ago. The author writes about losing Amy, his daughter and how it impacted all of their lives. If you have not lost a loved one, this is not for you.

I enjoyed the way the writer, Roger Rosenblatt, did not waste the reader’s time by describing, to boring detail, like many books do, the scenery. Many times, I have put a book down because the writer starts the book with a long and...more This is a book I’d strongly recommend to anybody that has lost a loved one whether it was recently or a couple of years ago. The author writes about losing Amy, his daughter and how it impacted all of their lives. If you have not lost a loved one, this is not for you.

I enjoyed the way the writer, Roger Rosenblatt, did not waste the reader’s time by describing, to boring detail, like many books do, the scenery. Many times, I have put a book down because the writer starts the book with a long and boring description of the scenery. Rosenblatt, on the other hand, did it perfectly by mixing it up with the story. He described it only if the story, or I should say, the memory he was recalling required it.

There is a very moving part, page 12, when Harris, Amy’s husband, is given tickets to the Masters golf tournament that he were to attend with Amy. “He held the piece of paper in his hands, stood, and burst into tears”. To me it was a vivid reminder of all the things he could have enjoyed with his wife, Amy, but that it was never to be.

Not all of it is sad, there are parts that are quite amusing and funny like the one in pages 58-59 when Rosenblatt wrote, “we would start out on a quarter-mile track , and once she, Amy, had burst from the starting line and was about to leave me in the dust, I would jog some twenty yards , cut across the oval, and wait for her frown of disgust at the finish. Nothing to it”.

The author also talks about the need to connect with loved ones and to make sure that they are ok. and realizing that saying I love you seems to come easier than before. He also touches on something a lot of us tend to have a hard time understanding and that is that even though the loss of a loved is very hard, the surviving spouse, in this case, Harris, also needs to go on with his life.

And last, but not least, the author acknowledges the fact that he is angry at God. I found this very refreshing because many people, whether because they are embarrassed or afraid of what others may think of them, try to cover it up by saying, “it’s God’s will”. When you lost a loved one, sooner or later, you will be angry at God and at the world for that matter for allowing such an injustice. Thanks for your refreshing and honest writing.

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May 08, 2011 Sue rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir

In December of 2007, the author's daughter, a physician and mother of three young children, collapsed and died of an asymptomatic and undiagnosed heart condition. This is his account of the two years following this most awful and unexpected event, years in which he and his wife struggle to fill the void left by their daughter in the lives of her young children. (Among the author's "mothering" tasks, and the only one that he feels he can do perfectly, is making toast for his young charges in just...more

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Feb 06, 2011 Ashley rated it 3 of 5 stars

While trying to write this review, I find my vocabulary to be appallingly inadequate. I keep typing, then erasing sentences. All the normal adjectives I would use seem disrespectful to the author, because this is not fiction. It's hard to say I enjoyed a book about something so real and tragic for the author, and yet I did. Making Toast is remarkable not so much for its subject matter - death in a close family - but more for its perspective and focus on remaking life for the family afterward. Ro...more

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Dec 31, 2010 Louise rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoirs

Thirty-eight-year-old Amy Rosenblatt Solomon dropped dead on her treadmill December 8, 2007 at 2:30 in the afternoon from an undiagnosed, asymptomatic, rare heart condition. Amy was a wife to hand surgeon Harris, a paediatrician herself and mother to three children: 7-year-old Jessica; 5-year-old Sammy; and 20-month-old James whom the family affectionally called “Bubbies.”

The story is narrated by Roger Rosenblatt, Amy’s father who teaches writing at the university level a couple of times a week....more

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Nov 22, 2010 Annie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoirs

Making Toast is a melancholy, poignant memoir by a grandfather who moves in to help raise his grandchildren after their mother, Amy, dies suddenly from a rare heart condition. Amy was a healthy doctor who showed no symptoms of any problem. She lives behind her husband Harris (a hand surgeon), Jessica (6 years-old), Sammy (4 years-old) and James (1 year-old). Roger and Ginny, the grandparents, immediately move into the basement. Roger, an author, examines the process of grief that each family me...more Making Toast is a melancholy, poignant memoir by a grandfather who moves in to help raise his grandchildren after their mother, Amy, dies suddenly from a rare heart condition. Amy was a healthy doctor who showed no symptoms of any problem. She lives behind her husband Harris (a hand surgeon), Jessica (6 years-old), Sammy (4 years-old) and James (1 year-old). Roger and Ginny, the grandparents, immediately move into the basement. Roger, an author, examines the process of grief that each family member undergoes and ultimately endures in a quiet, thoughtful, honest manner. It is a work that reminds everyone how different the grieving process can be for each individual. I thought the writing style was very restrained and almost polite. The book was filled with brief snapshots and vignettes of daily life, some sorrowful but also included delightful and humorous scenes. It is a sweet story and a tender novel of an unconventional scenario working for all parties as a catalyst for healing from such a sudden death. I am not sure what rating to give this story because it was a nice read but it didn’t necessarily strike me at my core like my favorite books do. There isn’t a strong dislike or strong like either way.
Caution to any sensitive readers: There one instance that I can recall of a swear word, also death is a heavy subject matter.

Favorite Quotes:
It was written in a hand surer than Ginny’s is these days. Since Amy died, her handwriting has deteriorated-one of the very few outward signs of her suffering. The letter closed: “I wish you work that matters. I wish you the joy of a great love in marriage. I wish you the beauty and fulfillment that comes from being a mother.

Odd that I seem to know Amy more completely in death than I did when she was alive. I do not know her any better (I doubt that I could know her any better), but there was so much to her life that I was unaware of until now, when I speak with her friends and colleagues and learn of this sound decisions or of that small gesture of thoughtfulness. Jean Mullen, Amy’s former chief resident, told me that she and Amy happened to have the same set of dishes and complained of the too-shallow soup bowls. Jean said, “Amy showed up at my door one day, carrying new deep soup bowls for both of us.”
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Aug 12, 2010 Agatha rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is an extended essay by a man whose daughter dies suddenly of a previously unknown heart defect. I regretted that the father did not have a closer relationship with God and that this element was completely lacking in the entire family, in fact. He was quite proudly adamant about the fact that they had always been an a-religious, secular family (as if this made him more "enlightened") so I feel pessimistic that he would ever change, but who knows, God works in mysterious ways.

One other very...more

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Jul 17, 2010 Harkinna rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a heart wrenching, yet not dramatic, look into a family faced with tragedy. Mr. Rosenblatt’s daughter suddenly dies while running on her treadmill from an undiagnosed heart problem. She was 38, the mother of three, and a doctor.

We are lead along as Mr. Rosenblatt describes, in largely chronological vignettes, how his life changed after his daughter’s death. We hear his thinking out loud about how his relationships with everyone have changed. We are made aware of the kind of fugue people...more

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Jun 11, 2010 Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-book

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 05, 2010 Lynn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sad, touching memoir of a family finding their way after the death of Amy: daughter, wife, sister, friend, and mother, as told by her father. It's not overly sad and is, actually, hopeful especially for the young children left behind. This is the kind of family we all wish for - strong, supportive and loving. One feels sure that though Amy's death will always color their lives, the family members will all survive intact.

My one quarrel with this book is near the end when Amy's brother, Carl is tr...more

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Apr 10, 2010 Ellen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: washington-dc, death, grandparent, grandchild, memoir

Amy, the author's daughter, dies suddenly, leaving her husband and three young children. Roger and Ginny move into the family home to help Amy's husband raise Jessie, Sammy, and Bubbies, the baby.

The author's memoir leads the reader through the first fourteen months after Amy's death as he learns his new duties (such as making the morning toast.)

Like Tracey Kidder, Rosenblatt doesn't overwrite or overanalyze. When he describes Sammy imitating his mother's dead body by lying on the floor with h...more

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Mar 29, 2010 Lynne Perednia rated it 5 of 5 stars

MAKING TOAST
By Roger Rosenblatt
Memoir
March 2010
Ecco Books (Harper Collins)
ISBN: 978-0-06-196537-1

Less than a month before Christmas in 2007, an apparently healthy doctor, wife and mother suddenly died at home. Her parents came to help her widower and three young children, and stayed.

Because the woman's parents are decent, kind-hearted people, as are her husband and siblings, this is a calm, gentle book about a family being good to each other even while everyone's heart breaks. Because her father...more MAKING TOAST
By Roger Rosenblatt
Memoir
March 2010
Ecco Books (Harper Collins)
ISBN: 978-0-06-196537-1

Less than a month before Christmas in 2007, an apparently healthy doctor, wife and mother suddenly died at home. Her parents came to help her widower and three young children, and stayed.

Because the woman's parents are decent, kind-hearted people, as are her husband and siblings, this is a calm, gentle book about a family being good to each other even while everyone's heart breaks. Because her father is noted writer and teacher Roger Rosenblatt, readers are brought into the family circle.

Making toast is the morning job assigned to Rosenblatt, whose "grandpa" name is Boppo. He even has a song about how great Boppo is and delights in teaching it not only to his grandchildren, but to one of their classes at school, where it is a hit. Boppo finds solace in the seemingly mundane task of getting everyone's breakfast correct. Grandson Bubbies, 2, demands real toast and, with calm authority, his grandfather's presence at the breakfast table. His grandfather writes that Bubbies sounds the way Paul Newman should have when he was a baby.

Despite the trauma of two of the three children discovering their mother dead of an asymptomatic heart condition during an exercise session at home, there is little drama in the book. And that's on purpose. The joys are calm, the hurt deep but shared without being maudlin, the children are put first by everyone with no one complaining about "my" time. Instead, Rosenblatt shows how he and the other adults find their small life pleasures in taking care of the daily routines that keep the children in school, active and listened to whenever they have something to say.

Without going into specifics of how time began to heal his wounds, and none of that "closure" business, Rosenblatt writes of the one time he felt another presence. He writes of how he puts off listening to his daughter's last voicemail message. He writes of carrying on day by day.

Rosenblatt also has tidbits throughout about the writing process and creative process, both with his college students and grandchildren, that resonate with their reality.

Making Toast is a lovely book about one way to approach the aftermath of something horrific. It is balm to read and an honor to be invited, even at a distance, into this family.
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Mar 23, 2010 Jennifer Jensen (Literally Jen) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: luxuryreading

**Originally reviewed for LuxuryReading.com**

There is a certain order to life and death: parents die before their children. At least this is what author and professor Roger Rosenblatt used to think up until his daughter Amy died unexpectedly from an asymptomatic heart condition. Roger and his wife Ginny put their own lives on hold to move in with their son-in-law Harris to help raise their beloved daughter's three children. As each member of the family dealt with his or her own grief about Amy's...more **Originally reviewed for LuxuryReading.com**

There is a certain order to life and death: parents die before their children. At least this is what author and professor Roger Rosenblatt used to think up until his daughter Amy died unexpectedly from an asymptomatic heart condition. Roger and his wife Ginny put their own lives on hold to move in with their son-in-law Harris to help raise their beloved daughter's three children. As each member of the family dealt with his or her own grief about Amy's death, simple every day tasks such as putting up the Christmas tree, toting the children to and from school and extracurricular activities, reading bedtime stories, and making toast to each child's specifications drew Roger and Ginny closer into the lives of their grandchildren.

Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt is a little slice-of-life memoir chronicling the events after the death of his daughter Amy. Discovering that Amy's condition is extremely rare and almost never causes death makes the grief harder for Roger to move past. Fond memories of Amy from Roger's perspective are sprinkled in among the details of the present. Surprisingly, the children seem more accepting of their mother's death than anyone else and speak of her more freely. Amy's husband, Harris, stoically mourns her loss, while proclaiming he will probably never remarry.

Losing a family member, especially one's child at an early age, is not something we as humans are ever fully prepared for. Even though it has been years since my grandparents' very much expected passing, I am still prone to tears when I conjure memories of them. Making Toast is about different yet similar losses to my own, and is sure to tug at the heartstrings of many people who will encounter this heartfelt memoir. As I read the last page, I felt as if I had just spent the last three hours with a room full of strangers. Though I read of both their happy and sad moments, I did not feel I knew them in the way I would have expected after reading moments of invulnerability and honesty. These were all very recent events, and I suspect this memoir might have turned out differently if Rosenblatt had written this several years after her death instead.
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Mar 03, 2010 Robin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Robin by: NPR

The story of a young mother who dies unexpectedly, leaving behind three children: 2, 4, & 6. Her parents come to live with her husband to help out with the kids and the book is a memoir by the grandfather of their first year together.

I started tearing up on page one (read AT the library, natch) and didn't finish until I closed the book (which is a quick read--I finished it that night). The book is most decidedly not precious which made it hit me all that much harder. My girls are the same ag...more

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Feb 26, 2010 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rosenblatt's memoir paints a portrait of the beautiful daughter they lost. He describes her as "a very clear person, even as a small child, knowing intuitively what plain good sense a particular situation required. " She was "both self-confident and selfless, (and) when she faced you there could be no doubt you were the only thing on her mind."

While her clarity sometimes caused her to be brusque with her brothers Carl and John, it also "contributed to her kindness". Rosenblatt tells of a time wh...more Rosenblatt's memoir paints a portrait of the beautiful daughter they lost. He describes her as "a very clear person, even as a small child, knowing intuitively what plain good sense a particular situation required. " She was "both self-confident and selfless, (and) when she faced you there could be no doubt you were the only thing on her mind."

While her clarity sometimes caused her to be brusque with her brothers Carl and John, it also "contributed to her kindness". Rosenblatt tells of a time when Amy was six-years-old, and a friend got carsick in the backseat of his car. The other two friends in the car moved away from the sick girl, but Amy moved closer to comfort her sick friend.

Roger and Ginny were thrown back into a world of caring for young children. Roger is in awe of his wife, who jumps right in and with boundless energy helps with homework, makes school lunches, comforts a crying baby, and attends soccer games with the moms and dads of her grandkids' friends.

He writes of her selflessness, and in what I think is the saddest sentence in the book, Ginny states, "I am leading Amy's life", she says in despair, yet comfort too." It breaks her heart when she eats dinner alone with her son-in-law, knowing that it should be his wife, her daughter, there listening to him talk about his day.

Roger bonds with a man he hires to turn his garage into a playroom for the grandkids when the man's college-aged son dies. Men generally don't share deep feelings with other men, and this relationship is moving. He also hears from so many other people who have suffered a similar loss, and it surprises him how many people there are in the same situation.

After a year passes, Roger and Ginny wonder if their son-in-law still wants them to stay. There is no question that they are where they need and want to be, and they sincerely wish for their son-in-law to someday find a new woman, knowing that he "will choose well".

Making Toast puts me in mind of Calvin Trillin's memoir about his wife, About Alice. Both books are slim, yet Rosenblatt, like Trillin, paints a full portrait of a special person he loves with carefully chosen words. It's about coping with unexpected loss, raging against the unfairness of it, while at the same time carrying on the day-to-day living that must continue. Roger and Ginny's tribute to their daughter's legacy is to step into her life and care for her family. Their story will touch (and sometimes break) your heart.

Thanks to Kayleigh from Harper Collins for providing me with a copy for review.(less)

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Feb 22, 2010 Jenna rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: mothers, fathers, those grieving

Recommended to Jenna by: the radio, because I kick it old school sometimes

Shelves: 2010-read-books

I blew through this book in seven hours. It has been awhile since I've read a memoir that I didn't find trite or even annoying at times. This particular one had me laughing, crying, laughing again and mostly nodding my head. While my living children are still with me, I have endured two family deaths in less than a month. The grief has been overwhelming at times. I simply needed this book at this point.

I came across it only because I randomly stopped on a radio talk show in which Rosenblatt was...more

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Feb 09, 2010 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Amy Elizabeth Rosenblatt Soloman was a successful pediatrician, the wife of a hand surgeon, and mother to three young children, ages 6, 4 and 1. She was just 38 years old, in the prime of her life, when she collapsed while working out on her treadmill at her home and died. The cause of death was an undiagnosed heart anomaly.

Ginny and Roger Rosenblatt, Amy's parents, should have been traveling and enjoying life, but when tragedy struck, and their daughter's children were left without their mothe...more

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Feb 08, 2010 Sandra Stiles rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult

Roger Rosenblatt lost his daughter Amy and a very early age. She left behind a husband and three children. The youngest only a year old. Roger and his wife pulled up stakes and moved in with their son-in-law to help him with the children. together they all work together to get through this tough time. This memoir rang vvery true for me. Roger talks openly and honestly about dealing with grief and how it affects all involved. Simple things such as realizing they were having an off day and took it...more

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Jan 31, 2010 Sherie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mr. Rosenblatt and his wife suddenly find themselves members of an exclusive club-a club they have no interest in joining. To be a member, one's fee is the life of one's child.
Some people rail against the god they once worshipped. Others reach out to things that will obliterate the terrible memory and others find the strength to put one foot in front of the other and get on with life.
In this book he shares his memories of moving in with his son-in-law and the three grandchildren left when his da...more

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Jan 29, 2010 Will Byrnes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-autobiography-memoir

Roger Rosenblatt’s daughter Amy was 38, a doctor, a wife and a mother of three small children when she died. Making Toast is Rosenblatt’s memoir of how he, his wife, Ginny, and the people Amy left behind coped with their loss. Roger and Ginny moved in with their son-in-law, Harris, and helped raise their grandkids. He writes of the day to day activities of parenting anew, of the questions the children ask, the decisions and steps required to continue living. It is a quiet book. I almost felt as...more

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About Roger Rosenblatt

Roger Rosenblatt’s essays for Time magazine and PBS have won two George Polk Awards, a Peabody, and an Emmy. He is the author of six Off-Broadway plays and 13 books, including the national bestseller Rules for Aging and Children of War, which won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He has written two satirical novels, Beet and Lapham Risi...more

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Books by Roger Rosenblatt

Kayak Morning: Reflections on Love, Grief, and Small Boats

Unless It Moves the Human Heart: The Craft and Art of Writing

Rules for Aging: Resist Normal Impulses, Live Longer, Attain Perfection

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