Blue Hydrangeas

By: Marianne Sciucco

Narrated by: Elinor Bell

What if the person who knew you best and loved you most forgot your face, and couldn't remember your name?

The Impossible Promise

Memory care is everyone's solution for what to do about Sara, but her husband, Jack, can't bear to live without her. He's committed to saving his marriage, his wife, and their life together from the devastation of Alzheimer's disease.

They retired years ago to the house of their dreams and operated it as a Cape Cod bed and breakfast named Blue Hydrangeas. Jack has made an impossible promise: They will stay together in their beautiful home no matter what the disease brings.

A Heartbreaking Choice

However, after nine years of selfless caregiving, complicated by her progressing Alzheimer's and his own failing heart, Jack finally admits he can no longer care for his wife at home. With reluctance, he arranges to admit her to an assisted living facility.

But on the morning of admission, Sara is having one of her few good days, and he's unable to follow through.

Instead, he takes them on an impulsive journey to confront their past and reclaim their future.

In the end, he realizes that staying together at any cost is what truly matters.

©2013 Marianne Sciucco (P)2014 Marianne Sciucco

Amazing

If I could give this more than 5 stars in all three categories I would! This author told a tale that is ripped from everyday life for Alzheimer’s care givers/family members. She did it with such a tender outlook that it is a love story for the ages. The performance was outstanding. Highly recommend this book!

Powerful love story that resonates with emotion

What made the experience of listening to Blue Hydrangeas the most enjoyable?

Narrator Elinor Bell tells this story with a delicate balance of compassion, realism and objectivity that enables the listener to empathize with Jack and Sara without getting bogged down in the horrific devastation wrought on those faced with Alzheimer's. My father was diagnosed with AD in his early 50s and lived with the diagnosis for 18 years. Knowing firsthand how painful AD can be, I was almost reluctant to experience this story. While there are sharp emotional moments that triggered my own grief and loss, the narrator's gentle but honest style kept me moving forward with the story. Readers who have experienced AD will be reminded of the strength, hope and love that enables them (us) to cope with Alzheimer's.

What did you like best about this story?

Author Marrianne Sciucco's portrayal of Sara is true to life - The angry outbursts directed toward Jack, her fear, her confusion, the rare "good days". Sara is not depicted as good or bad or even a victim; she is just a person affected by a disease that impacts not only cognitive abilities, but emotions and behavior.

Any additional comments?

There are no easy answers when it comes to dealing with Alzheimer's. Different families have different needs and resources that result in different decisions for each. Blue Hydrangeas is a compassionate and honest portrayal of how AD impacts couples, families and friends. While there is no miracle cure or miraculous healing (although I found myself wishing something like this would happen for Jack and Sara), this story captures the power of real-life love, hope and courage.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

Incredible Book

Narration - Elinor Bell - REALLY GOOD! Really!

Wow...
This is such an incredible book.
I lost my mother in April 2014 to Alzheimers. This book does an exceptional job of portraying, not only what the caregivers go through with this stupid disease, but what the 'diagnosee' is going through as well. The confusion, the fear, the denial, the paranoia. The struggle for caregivers to try to keep the promises that they made to their loved one and the shame (maybe shame isn't the right word), but the desire to hide what's going on from everyone on the outside because you know your loved one would be horrified. The terror you see on their face when you know that they realize what's happening to them and there's nothing that can be done to stop it. The pain when that person no longer knows who you are. The relief when the disease progresses to the point where they no longer realize that they have Alzheimers - so at least you don't have to see that struggle and pain in their eyes and soul anymore.

This is the story of a elderly couple in love, that are bound and determined to stay in their home, stay together, kiss each other good night, wake up next to each other every morning, while they try to navigate this disease. We experience this disease through the eyes of Sara and her husband Jack, but also through the eyes of friends, neighbors, children and grandchildren.

This is a poignant story about the tragic disease called Alzheimers filled with love and loss and it is spot on!

Just fabulous!

That is all.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

A tender, gentle love story

WHAT IT'S ABOUT
What if the person who knew you best and loved you most forgot your face, and couldn’t remember your name? A nursing facility is everyone's solution for what to do about Sara, but her husband, Jack, can't bear to live without her. He is committed to saving his marriage, his wife, and their life together from the devastation of Alzheimer’s disease. He and Sara retired years ago to the house of their dreams, and operated it as a Cape Cod bed and breakfast named Blue Hydrangeas. Jack has made an impossible promise: He and Sara will stay together in their beautiful home no matter what the disease brings. However, after nine years of selfless caregiving, complicated by her progressing Alzheimer’s and his own failing heart, he finally admits he can no longer care for her at home. With reluctance, he arranges to admit her to an assisted living facility. But, on the day of admission, Sara is having one of her few good days, and he is unable to follow through. Instead, he takes them on an impulsive journey to confront their past and reclaim their future. In the end, he realizes that staying together at any cost is what truly matters.

MY TAKE
I'll rate this 4 1/2 and round it up to 5 stars.

This is a gentle, tender story of an elderly couple facing the monster that is Alzheimers. The book is filled with flashbacks that are interspersed with the current day story, when Jack is finally faced with the reality that he cannot continue to care for his beloved wife by himself--it's literally killing him.

Through those flashbacks, the reader is able to see the woman Sara had been and understand why Jack worked so hard to convince himself that he could cling to their old way of life. But Alzheimers is a terrible disease that steals away not just the memories of the loved one with it but the person they used to be, all while letting slip in little glimmers of that loved one. Just to enough to tease that she was really still in there. Somewhere.

It's a scary tale for me because my husband's father and several of his aunts and uncle have had Alzheimers. I could be in Jack's position some day. I learned a lot from the story, things I didn't know before, but the "education" I received helped me to understand the disease better. Now I can only pray I won't have to use it first hand.

Profound Love Story

I received a complimentary copy of the audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

It was a lovely story of a man dedicated and loving his wife.

The story was very well written. It did a very good job of depicting the behaviors of both the person with dementia and a tired and frustrated caregiver that wants their loved one back the way they were.

The story and the telling of it pulled me in, and I listened from start to finish in one day! The narrator, Elinor Bell did a wonderful job with voices of the different characters, timing, and production.

I highly recommend this book.