TLC Book Tours: Lifesaving for Beginners

I started this book when I got up this morning, and was immediately sucked in.  Anne Edelstein's memoir begins with her mother's accidental drowning while on vacation in Australia.  However, although this book is about Edelstein's relationship with her mother, it is about so much more.

Edelstein begins with her mother's death, but early in the book she also shares that her family has had a lot of experience with death, particularly suicide.  Her younger brother, uncle, and grandfather all committed suicide.  These deaths all impacted Edelstein and the way she views family and relationships.

I appreciated Edelstein's honesty; she shares the ups and downs of the relationships she has with family members, and I felt like I was able to see a full picture of what these relationships were like.

Writing this memoir was probably cathartic for Edelstein.  I appreciated all of the details, big and small, that she shared, and was easily able to relate to her.

This book also came to me at exactly the right moment.  I debated including this in my review, because I don't want to detract from how much I enjoyed Lifesaving For Beginners, but I started this book yesterday morning.  Yesterday afternoon my father passed away after a nearly decade-long battle with Alzheimer's.  I know some people wouldn't be able to read a memoir about someone losing a parent while they were losing a parent themselves, but I found this memoir comforting.  

Lifesaving For Beginners is a memoir that I am thankful was sent to me for review, a happy surprise that I didn't know much about.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for providing a copy of this book for my review.  All opinions expressed are, as always, my own.