Okay this wasn't what I'd expected it to be. I thought it was 'based on a true story' but it's actually a memoir.

The Last Act of Love by Cathy Rentzenbrink | Goodreads

Sadly missed along life’s way, quietly remembered every day. No longer in our life to share, but in our hearts, you’re always there. And I'm not exactly interested in policing how we speak in this term. I'm more interested in asking why 'cause I'm a product of America, too, and I use these terms sometimes without thinking myself. But I'm interested in saying, what is it about a culture that uses these terms as the only recognizable way to sort of celebrate each other? These terms prevail. It's not like we don't have more wholesome, you know, life-giving terms, but these are the ones that prevail through time.TONYA MOSLEY, BYLINE: What does it mean to write to a mother who will never read it? That's one of the central questions of Ocean Vuong's 2019 novel "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous." The book is a work of fiction and also autobiographical a letter to Vuong's mother, Rose, who never learned to read. Rose was an immigrant from Vietnam who worked at a nail salon for 25 years. She died in 2019 from breast cancer, the same year the novel was released. Vuong's newest book, "Time Is A Mother," is a searing book of poetry that he calls a search for life after the death of his mother. And Ocean Vuong joins us now. Welcome to FRESH AIR. VUONG: Thank you, Tonya. It's been a incredible, incredible experience. And thank you for your capacious questions and your deep respect for the subject. You will always have a place in my heart and, a year, two or even eternity won’t see your memory fade. I love you my darling Use these messages to send or say to someone on the anniversary of the passing of a loved one. They will appreciate you taking the time to think of them on what is likely to be an emotionally hard day. She would soon realise just how serious her brother's condition was. Matty was placed into an induced coma after having surgery for a traumatic head injury. After his operation, Rentzenbrink thinks: 'Surely someone this fit and strong couldn't die? Surely someone who was loved this much couldn't die?' Although the family were hopeful at first, he was diagnosed much later as being in a persistent vegetative state, and was unable to walk or speak again. Rentzenbrink charts his very slow rise out of unconsciousness, into periods of 'sleep and wake'. He was tube fed, and unable to make even yes and no responses. Matty passed away eight years later, in 1998.

The Last Act of Love) Cathy Rentzenbrink Quotes (Author of The Last Act of Love)

This is the story of what happened to Cathy and her brother, and the unimaginable decision that she and her parents had to make eight years after the night that changed everything. It's a story for anyone who has ever watched someone suffer or lost someone they loved or lived through a painful time that left them forever changed. In the book, she describes her experience of Matty’s journey and the difficult decisions faced, how the injury changed her relationship with him, and how it changed relationships with their parents. Rentzenbrink intimately explores the consequences of Matty’s brain injury, the impact it has had on her life, and how she came to terms with what happened. As such, the book provides a privileged insight into the effects of an individual’s brain injury on their family. Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy”– Unknown Haig, Matt (5 July 2015). "The Last Act of Love by Cathy Rentzenbrink review – uplifting memoir". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 August 2023 . Retrieved 18 August 2023. All the amazing times I had with my sister become so vivid today. She was a one of a kind and I miss her with all my heart

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This is a legacy of trauma: we spend so much time anticipating a new horror that we destroy the present.” And ever since I lost her, I felt that my life has been lived in only two days, if that makes any sense. You know, there's the today, where she is not here, and then the vast and endless yesterday where she was, even though it's been three years since. How many months and days? But I only see it in - with one demarcation. Two days - today without my mother, and yesterday, when she was alive. That's all I see. That's how I see my life now. Industry Focus: A conversation with Cathy Retzenbrink". Falmouth University English & Creative Writing. 4 April 2018. Archived from the original on 18 August 2023 . Retrieved 18 August 2023.