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A Farewell Album for My Parents: Book Reviews
COMING TOMORROW
FAREWELL ALBUM:
Mixing a poet's craft with a son's devotion, Mark Seiden has transformed his parents' death into a moving elegy of love and remembrance. The Framingham State College English professor known as "the Poetry Bum" has bravely faced the loss of both parents, finding in their passing moments of grace, humor and fulfillment. Written with painful honesty, Seiden's "A Farewell Album for My Parents" provides wise guidance for any child contemplating parental loss.
In ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
“This fresh, loving meditation on what it means to be a son should give heart to
anyone struggling with the loss of a parent. “A gutsy commitment and love that
just won’t quit is what end-of-life caretaking must ultimately come down to for
all of us,” Mark Seiden writes, introducing us to his straight-from-the-heart romp
though hymns, memories, and poetry in which he commemorates the final days
and months of first his father’s, then his mother’s death…. Each page is a hospital
room brightened with drawings of flowers or song. Love letters open doors to a
long-ago past. This is a scrapbook of touching moments and moments of touching,
celebrating loss through rebirth. We learn that Norman and Julia were not alone;
and neither are we.”
“Mark Seiden has built his dad and mom the finest kind of memorial. Anyone who
knew them, anyone who reads the book, will cherish it. Several passages hit this
reader as extremely beautiful expressions of complex feelings. Seiden’s account
of his old man’s lashing out in anger at him because he’s mad at his own decline,
and their reconciliation, is moving and very real. But anyone involved with a friend
or relative who has dementia and/or who is rapidly falling apart will appreciate
Seiden’s experiences with his mother and dad. And learn from them. Mark
Seiden’s persistence and determination is really touching and exemplary.”
“Even though my surname isn’t Seiden, he’s told the story of my parents and me,
as well. What a gift he’s given not only to his readers but to his family, near, far,
extended, and to come.”
“Very moving – heartwarming! I loved this book. Lots of people will love this book.”
"Mark Seiden bravely shows the way to enshrine a remembrance of beloved parents, without smoother over
the ragged edges of the parent-child relationship. His method - that of making an album (including giving
over the book to his parents' letters) - is disarmingly informal, but the impact of the book, with its
haunting photos of his parents in their youth contrasted with images of them in their final years, is
cumulative. By the time you're done, you will love his parents too - for their vitality and their hopes -
and reflected on the mystery of your own origins and your own fate."
"I will use this book in my courses on aging and gerontology, and I would encourage educators elsewhere
to include this volume as an important adjunct to established course material. My students will read it
and ponder with me its significance and beauty next to their drier, cleaner, more technical studies.
Through Seiden's lovely prose, moving poetry, and often painful diary glimpses, the reader comes away
educated and edified."
“Caregivers of beloved older adults and students of gerontology will find comfort
and inspiration in the compellingly beautiful writing and images of Mark Seiden’s
A Farewell Album for My Parents. More of us face this journey every day, and Seiden’s
book could help us develop the courage we need to contemplate end-of-life issues
with grace and dignity. Students in my classes were moved to discuss, and think, and
write in a more deeply reflective and caring way after reading Mark Seiden’s loving
tribute to his parents.”
“For the first forty years I was overwhelmed with my father’s presence; for the past
ten years I have been overwhelmed with his absence. Mark Seiden’s experience of
coming to terms with his dad’s powerful legacy opened emotional floodgates for
me. Seiden’s reconciliation with his father’s memory (when he sees the similarity of
their shadows on an ocean beach) helped me begin to accept my father’s life and
death and, more importantly, to accept myself and my own life.”
“A rare book that models how we may find a sense of peace, fulfillment and even joy
in the difficult passage of mourning a parent…. Seiden demonstrates how building
an “album” to celebrate his parents’ life can become a profoundly healing experience.
His book will be therapeutic reading for daughters and sons at any point in
their own farewell journey.”