The Goldfish Went on Vacation: A Memoir of Loss (and ... (ISBN 1590304284)

little disappointed:
When I purchased this book I assumed it would be more telling about how her husband's disease affected their lives, how he handled things, along with doctors diagnosis, thoughts and suggestions. This book was more about the wife and her past memories of her life. I didn't care for it.

Now, we are two:
In a support group for families dealing with a terminally ill member, a woman reveals that she had to flush her son's goldfish, but couldn't bear to tell him the truth about it, so her story because that "the goldfish went on vacation." For author Patty Dann and her preschool son Jake, as dad Willem dies of a brain tumor, "now, we are two." It's only natural that prolific essayist and writing workshop instructor Patty Dann would publish a book on the topic of loss when she was widowed after less than a decade of marriage. The author observes that with a 3-year-old just out of a stroller, and a husband with a degenerative brain tumor, she may soon be pushing two children around. The short, delicate chapters are peppered with poignant insights and frank discussions about death, but the worth as a whole strives too hard to be "that perfect pocket book for giving to a friend coping with loss." I personally looked for just such a book when my best friend gave birth to a baby girl doctors predicted would live less than three years. I might have been tempted by this title had it been out, but with four years of maturity (and a still relatively stable, growing four-year-old child for my best friend), I would never select such an unremarkable, silly book to attempt to comfort a friend. Dann does deal with a unique aspect of loss--she has a year to adjust to becoming a widow and a single parent, as she watches her husband lose his mental and physical faculties. Her ideas, like having family members write letters to her son to be opened in a decade, on his thirteenth birthday, help remind the reader how much we need to celebrate and cherish those around us every day. As a whole, though, the essays add up to little more than a cute book with a fish on the cover. For hard-hitting personal soul-searching about the death of a spouse and father, I would recommend Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking.

The Goldfish Went on Vacation: A Memoir of Loss:
Excellent read. Couldn't put it down. Subject close to my heart. In reading this book, at times you felt what the author was feeling. Again, it was an excellent book. I may even read it again to see if I missed anything.

Just a short book..:
This book isn't very long at all..but I found myself taking my time reading it. The books author gives you (the reader) a lot of things to think about. I hope the author will write a second memoir to continue the conversation where she left off with this one. A memoir about the way children grieve AND the way adults grieve, a very insightful book.

Great Seller!:
Book was received in NEW condition and was a very fast shippment! Would buy from again!