Jordan Reads Too Much

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a short, sweet book about a grown woman returning home and reconnecting with her dad. Ruth is 30, still recuperating from her fiance dumping her, and her dad, Howard, is beginning to lose his memory. During Christmas her mother asks her to stay, just for the year. Ruth leaves her job and moves back to her family home to spend the year with her father and mother.

This story is told in snippets. I've read some other books that take this approach (Dept. of Speculation, for example) and they're typically pretentious. You won't find that here. Rachel Khong's story is very honest but still filled with humor and wit. There is some sadness, but this felt more like a celebration of Ruth and her father rather than a mourning of the man that once was.

I was not overly wowed by this book. It was pleasurable, and I'd look for other novels by Khong. It just didn't knock my socks off. Recommended for anyone who has a loved one experiencing dementia. This may be a reminder that even though it's scary and sad watching your loved one lose their memory and identity, there is still humor and love to be found.

Could you move back home for a year to care for an ailing parent? Comment below!

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