My Mother's Requiem

<p>A daughter's memoir of sacrifice and discovery as her ailing mother's caretaker is an inspiring story of love loss and the ravages of aging (Kirkus).</p><p><br></p><p>Like all mothers mine had a set of maxims that she thought were important to impart to me: if you can't say anything nice then don't satay anything at all (unless it's irresistibly funny); it's as easy to fall in love with a rich man as it is with a poor man (a nice idea in theory); if you want to commit suicide wait until tomorrow (advice which has it turns out saved my life).</p><p><br></p><p>Like many daughters of elderly parents Trish MacEnulty finds herself in a maze of healthcare negotiations and surprising discoveries when her mother can no longer care for herself. Trish's mother who stood by her through her darkest years was a small-town icon as a composer pianist organist and musical director. She is suddenly unable to be the accomplished independent person she once was. Now Trish has two goals: to help her daughter avoid the mistakes that derailed her own life and to see her mother's masterpiece An American Requiem find a new life and a new audience in her mother's lifetime. Along the way Trish rediscovers her own strength humor and rebelliousness at the most unlikely moments.</p>