The Story of Forgetting

by Stefan Merrill Block

This is a story about Alzheimer's disease - or more precisely, familial early-onset Alzheimer's disease. The subject matter being very sensitive and sad, this also dictates the tone of the book.

We follow two people.

Firstly, there is Seth, whose mother becomes ill when he is 15. Knowing very little about her life before she was married he sets out to learn about the disease that inflicted her (and sharing what information he gathered along the way) and tries to find out about her family history.

Secondly, there is Abel, a hunchback living in rural Texas and waiting for the return of his daughter Jaimie, who was led to believe that her father was Paul, Abel's twin brother. She left after she learned the truth. Whereas Abel is unaflicted, Paul suffers from Alzheimer's.

These two story lines move towards each other.

Impressive and incredibly sad.

Information on the author's family's struggle with the disease can be found on his official website.

8/10