# My Disappearing Mother: A Memoir of Magic and Loss in the Country of Dementia - Hardcover

by **Suzanne Finnamore** (Author)

**To come to terms with her mother's dementia, writer Suzanne Finnamore's groundbreaking new memoir conceptualizes dementia as an actual, albeit rather magical, place, "like the Acropolis or Yonkers...a place where beloved and ancient queens and kings retire, where linear time doesn't exist, and the rules of society are laid aside.... Whenever I go to my parents' double-wide in Hayward, California, I am really traveling to Dementia."**

**"I love @sfinnamore's new book, "My Disappearing Mother." --@Annelamott on X**

_My Disappearing Mother: A Memoir of Magic and Loss_ is far more than a memoir on the devastation that comes with dementia, a cognitive impairment that affects 55 million people worldwide. Finnamore beautifully chronicles her mother's rich and varied life journey, from her birth in Puerto Rico during the height of the Depression to ferrying to the United States, in hopes of a better life. On U.S. soil, her mother, Bunny, started working as a performer for enlisted men, then became a secretary, and eventually a professional clairvoyant. With unexpected humor, Suzanne explores the feeling of love, grief, family, and loss while celebrating the bonds between mothers and daughters.

In Suzanne's words, "I want a book that attests to the fact that in a world full of disease, there is an abiding and supernatural force of love. That because of this, the sadness and the horror can be borne. That laughter can live alongside grief. That it must." When Suzanne's guest essay "Dementia Is a Place Where My Mother Lives. It Is Not Who She Is" was published in the _New York Times_ on Mother's Day 2022, readers responded with an outpouring of empathy and love. And so this book was born, full of clues and guidance to help others feel less alone on the path that Finnamore has walked.

### Author Biography

Suzanne Finnnamore was born in Los Angeles and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 1982 with a degree in English Literature. She has published four books and has been translated into twenty languages. Her debut novel was a Barnes & Noble Discover New Author selection. Her second book was a _Washington Post_ Book of the Year in 2002. Her work has appeared in the _New York Times_, _New York Magazine_, _Mademoiselle_, _Glamour_, _Marin Magazine_, _PoetryNow_, the _San Francisco Chronicle_, _USA Today_, and has been included on several Oprah reading lists. She lives with her very last husband, Tom, and their two little dogs.

**Number of Pages:** 224

**Dimensions:** 0.9 x 8.3 x 5.6 IN

**Publication Date:** October 24, 2023

## Details

- **Price:** 28.99 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 28.99 USD | In stock |

## Images

- My Disappearing Mother: A Memoir of Magic and Loss in the Country of Dementia - Hardcover

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