When Glenda Burgess and Kenneth Grunzweig met in 1988, Kenneth had already lost two wives—the first in a fatal car crash, and then years late...
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Jul 22, 2008
Sandi
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I’m not going to mark this review as having spoilers. If you read the blurb about the book and you read enough books and watch enough movies, it’s pretty obvious how this book will end. “The Geography of Love” is a voyage, not a destination. The outcome is not what is important here.
As a youth, I used to read tragic books about people dying too young from terrible diseases. There was “Sunshine” about a young wife and mother dying of cancer who made tape recordings for her baby More...
As a youth, I used to read tragic books about people dying too young from terrible diseases. There was “Sunshine” about a young wife and mother dying of cancer who made tape recordings for her baby More...
Oct 30, 2007
Dave
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This is a wonderful book with a lot of heart and substance. A rare find and that I have recommended to my close friends and family!
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Jan 15, 2010
Debbie
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When I picked this book up a couple of things held my interest right away...the first being that it was a memoir, the second being the love story, the third being the mystery it seemed to hold of a woman marrying a man who was twice before married...both women dead in tragic ways! When I read this, I thought...WHAT...and she was still willing to marry him...what a crazy woman!! Well, the love story faction comes through and holds your attention, especially as you read and discover what the rea
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Sep 16, 2009
Missy
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At 30 years old, Glenda Burgess was worried that time was running out for her to find someone to share her life with. She was not married, had a great job working for the State Department and traveled extensively with her job. She wanted to find love and settle down.
She decided to quit her job and move back to Spokane, WA where she was originally from, and where her mother still resided. Upon arriving at her mother's farm, Glenda explains to her mother her plans for change, and More...
She decided to quit her job and move back to Spokane, WA where she was originally from, and where her mother still resided. Upon arriving at her mother's farm, Glenda explains to her mother her plans for change, and More...
Oct 07, 2009
Rhonda Rae
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This was an absolutely beautiful memoir! Be sure you read it with a box of tissues by your side...I was moved with such emotions.
I think this is such an amazing story...I was moved by the characters and came to love each of them. Understanding the love they had for each other and relating to their feelings, my heart was wrenched and yet thankful they had time to express their appreciation for one another.
When my family was taken from me, there was no warning, no opportu More...
I think this is such an amazing story...I was moved by the characters and came to love each of them. Understanding the love they had for each other and relating to their feelings, my heart was wrenched and yet thankful they had time to express their appreciation for one another.
When my family was taken from me, there was no warning, no opportu More...
Oct 30, 2007
Bookgirl
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This book is LOVE STORY on steroids! One of most moving and eloquently written memoirs of a passionate releationship, strained by the circumstances of life. Moving, heartfelt, and completely satisfying - it wil make you cry. I loved it, and learned that the life we hold in our hands is precious and fleeting - one must celebrate every moment.
Sep 10, 2009
Jessica
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Centered around her whirlwind love affair and marriage to Ken Grunzweig, Glenda Burgess recounts the couple's life together, and her husband's battle with lung cancer in <The Geography of Love.> It's difficult to admit that I disliked a book that from the outset promises to tell a heartbreaking life story, but I confess: the book turned me off completely. I don't doubt that Burgess loved her husband fiercely and valiantly, or that she and her family suffered much during his excruciating ca
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Aug 23, 2009
Charlotte
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I feel like a piker giving this exquisitely written and very sincere book only three stars, but I feel a bit like the victim of a "bait and switch." I can almost hear the marketing department at Broadway Books say, "Let's not market this as a cancer memoir, let's market it as something else." From the long back cover description, I thought this might be more of a suspenseful read, as it maps out the author's meeting and decision to marry despite the fact that he was twice-w
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Aug 12, 2009
Elizabeth
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I won this book. I wasn't sure that I was going to like it. I received it in the mail yesterday. I finished it this morning. I will probably read it again. This is more than just a love story. I found it to be a tribute and not only a tribute to Ken but a tribute to love, a tribute to family, and a tribute to individual members of the families involved. Even with all the sadness and illness, I wanted to be a member of this loving family. There appeared to be so much respect, unconditional lov
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Feb 08, 2010
Mary
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There are 194 reviews of this book so I will probably not enlighten anyone beyond what has been stated. I thank Glenda for writing her memoir and sharing very intimate moments in ther life. I felt she was masterful with the choice of words and descriptions. I was troubled by her relationship with her Mom which is probably what Glenda intended. I loved her use of the English language. Her quote from her dad may tell us where she got her talent for the written word. When Glenda asked him wha
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Nov 19, 2009
Carmen
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When I first won this book, I didn't really realize that this was a memoir, a non-fiction. But despite that ignorance on my part, I was truly touched by this book. The love and romance that Glenda Burgess describes between her and her husband is truly inspiring and that once-ina-lifetime-all-the-moments-of-you
r-lives-stay-the-night-forever kind of love. The words and feelings that come through off the pages are ones of a woman who has been truly touched by love and lives off of it. It make More...
r-lives-stay-the-night-forever kind of love. The words and feelings that come through off the pages are ones of a woman who has been truly touched by love and lives off of it. It make More...
Jun 03, 2009
Eunira
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When Glenda Burgess and Kenneth Grunzweig met in 1988, Kenneth had already lost two wives—the first in a fatal car crash, and then years later his second wife in a brutal murder for which Kenneth remained for many years the prime suspect.
What possesses a woman to fall in love with a man fourteen years her senior, with a troubled teenage daughter and a past shadowed with so much suspicion and misfortune? And why would a man who has loved and lost in such tragic ways take a chance on ope More...
What possesses a woman to fall in love with a man fourteen years her senior, with a troubled teenage daughter and a past shadowed with so much suspicion and misfortune? And why would a man who has loved and lost in such tragic ways take a chance on ope More...
Apr 02, 2009
Danielle
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I was expecting this to be a boring book, i don't usually enjoy ture love stories. I tend to think that they're sappy. I was surprised at this book. What a fantastic and brave rendition of Burgess' life! It was fantastically written. I had to keep putting it down at the end so that i could collect myself. I was absolutely bawling. Burgess wrote of every last raw detail and i commend her for it. Everyone knows someone with cancer, unfortunately, so really everyone can relate to the family
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Aug 25, 2009
Kristen
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I won this book through Goodreads, which was very exciting for me! When I began reading it, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it. Burgess is a good writer, but it seemed a bit forced to me in the beginning. However, the more I read, the more involved in the story I became. The tale is heartbreaking. Her descriptions are vivid, and the pain her husband felt are painstakingly stated. Overall, I would say it was a good book, with very touching sections. I feel that some elements were glossed o
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Aug 24, 2009
Beth Anne
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so. this book started out really great for me. i loved the author's voice...her story about finding love in this unusual older man...the conflict between his family, daughter, etc...it was so easy to read, it flowed, i breezed through it, enjoying every word.
and when the cancer hit...i was ready for it. in fact, i was waiting for the big cry fest that was coming when i finished the book.
it never came. the second half of the book, the story of tragedy and disease....act More...
and when the cancer hit...i was ready for it. in fact, i was waiting for the big cry fest that was coming when i finished the book.
it never came. the second half of the book, the story of tragedy and disease....act More...
Sep 17, 2009
Erin
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jan 20, 2010
Sandra
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After meeting Ken in a deli line while both are waiting to purchase Montrachet cheese, Glenda feels an immediate connection. Although Ken is older and has been married twice with both ending tragically, the couple soon marry and have children. As if in a fairy tale they live happily ever after until a spot on Ken's lungs require the family to use every reserve they have to fight through the illness. The devotion and love shown by the family in this memoir by Burgess will touch the hearts of re
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Aug 17, 2009
Sarah
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8/17: Wow. Just finished this memoir, and it was deeply moving. I cried straight through the last 75 pages. Glenda Burgess told the story of her pain over the death of her wonderful husband so clearly, it actually made me sad and I actually felt I was grieving along with her. Not only that, but it also made me feel so profoundly grateful for the wonderful man in my life, and resolved to make the most out of each day with him. This book is terribly sad, but well worth the read. Thanks First-Reads
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Sep 07, 2010
Roberta
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Although this a completely different story, this book reminded me a lot of "Eat, Pray, Love". To be more exact, Glenda Burgess reminded me a lot of Elizabeth Gilbert in that she is very self-involved, although totally devoid of Elizabeth Gilbert's sense of humor. Glenda Burgess is so earnest, so emotional, so phony. Her biggest concern during the time her husband was dying of cancer is that she missed the sex. WHAT! That's the worst part of his dying?
I did find two q More...
I did find two q More...
May 15, 2011
Angie
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This was such an enjoyable read, the perfect weekend book. Not many books can make me cry but this one did. The story follows the love between 2 people: Glenda and Ken and the family they create. They have an uncanny connection-emotionally and physically. The connection is almost supernatural and the love so tender. In one passage, Ken quotes a poem "Everything conspires to haunt me here with memory and thought and sense of you...the silver aspen on whose bark I carved your name and
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May 26, 2010
Em
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Magic and reality meet in Glenda Burgess‘s The Geography of Love: A Memoir.
Ken, fifty-ish, widowed twice and a father to a problematic teen, and Glenda, a middle-aged careerwoman who believed in her instinct, fell in love with each other.
Glenda’s instincts told her that she was going to marry the man sitting across from her somewhere in Spokane. How they fell in love and decided to get married were all part of the magic. However, this love borne out of magic was tested by More...
Ken, fifty-ish, widowed twice and a father to a problematic teen, and Glenda, a middle-aged careerwoman who believed in her instinct, fell in love with each other.
Glenda’s instincts told her that she was going to marry the man sitting across from her somewhere in Spokane. How they fell in love and decided to get married were all part of the magic. However, this love borne out of magic was tested by More...
Nov 20, 2008
Danielle
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Won this in the First Reads giveaway and it's been sitting on my shelf since mid July. Really should get on this one.
***So I finished this book a couple of weeks ago. I mostly read it on the train (I take it 1-2x per week which is why it took so long to finish) and I'm just glad I read the last few chapters at home. I seriously didn't stop bawling my eyes out for an entire hour while I finished this. I'm not a huge fan of Burgess' writing style. She comes off a bit pretentious, More...
***So I finished this book a couple of weeks ago. I mostly read it on the train (I take it 1-2x per week which is why it took so long to finish) and I'm just glad I read the last few chapters at home. I seriously didn't stop bawling my eyes out for an entire hour while I finished this. I'm not a huge fan of Burgess' writing style. She comes off a bit pretentious, More...
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Aug 05, 2008
Kelly
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The Geography of Love is a beautiful, moving, uplifting, and heartbreaking memoir. Glenda Burgess has given us a remembrance of her marriage, and her husband that carries such a core of truth that it is difficult to put it down.
After a successful career with the State Department, Glenda has decided to return to the United States and start fresh. She meets a man, Ken, 13 years her senior who has already been widowed twice, his first wife died in a car accident, and his second wife was More...
After a successful career with the State Department, Glenda has decided to return to the United States and start fresh. She meets a man, Ken, 13 years her senior who has already been widowed twice, his first wife died in a car accident, and his second wife was More...
Jul 28, 2008
Jessie
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This book is divided into three parts. Unfortunately, the first two parts did not inspire much emotion in me and left me completely uninvested in the protagonist. Fortunately, the third part was thoroughly engrossing as well as the bulk of the book. I've spent a good deal of time trying to figure out what changed between these sections of the book that my reactions should be so markedly different. The writing style appears consistent. Perhaps the author is more adept at conveying the fight, hurt
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Sep 11, 2008
I was fortunate last night to be able to hear a reading by this author at our local independent bookstore, Third Place Books (in Lake Forest Park, Washington: Check it out!). It was a very intimate reading and it was quite wonderful to experience this authors' story on such a personal level. The writing in this memoir is quite beautiful, made more so when hearing it spoken by Ms. Burgess herself. If she is making a stop in your town, you should definately try to catch the reading. I do make two
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Aug 12, 2008
Jen
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Before I describe what I didn't like about this book, I must disclose that I don't generally care for memoirs in the first place, so that may have tainted my reading experience. Had I not received this through the goodreads firstread program, I would have stopped reading after a few chapters. Here we go:
1) I never escaped the feeling that I was reading someone's diary, and it made me uncomfortable.
2) One of the joys of reading is recommending books to others. To whom c More...
1) I never escaped the feeling that I was reading someone's diary, and it made me uncomfortable.
2) One of the joys of reading is recommending books to others. To whom c More...
Sep 16, 2009
Karol
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This was one of the most deeply moving love stories I have ever read. The husband/father in this true story loved deeply, and was deeply loved by his whole family.
Reading this book made me very uncomfortable. After all, it is about a husband and father dying from cancer. Not an easy subject to think about. I finished reading this memoir about two weeks ago and I can't stop thinking about this man's life, and all of the love in his world. What a wonderful, wonderful way to live.
Reading this book made me very uncomfortable. After all, it is about a husband and father dying from cancer. Not an easy subject to think about. I finished reading this memoir about two weeks ago and I can't stop thinking about this man's life, and all of the love in his world. What a wonderful, wonderful way to live.
Jul 24, 2009
Susan
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I enjoyed reading this book, and it kept my attention, although sometimes I think the author is a bit too verbose. It is the story of one woman's marriage to an older man who has a lot of history. They made a happy life together until his diagnosis with cancer. Half of the book chronicles their fight against his lung cancer and how they and their family deal with the cancer and death. It is a tear jerker, but somehow is not a downer, a bittersweet book about life and death.
Sep 08, 2009
Karen
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The GEOGRAPHY OF LOVE is Glenda Burgess' story of her husband's fight with (and eventual death from) cancer. I found it difficult to get into this book but when I was about halfway through it, I suddenly couldn't put it down. I wanted to finish the book so Ken would be finished with his fight and be at peace. Most of us hear things about cancer patients. We hear, "She is on chemo and the treatments make her so tired." We hear, "The radiation treatments make him nauseous."
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