Shades of Grace

by Barbara Delinsky

Book Overview

The bestselling author of Together Alone and For My Daughters has a unique talent for writing about serious subjects in a way that stirs the hearts and minds of her readers yet is thoroughly entertaining and upbeat. Shades of Grace continues that tradition with the story of Grace Dorian, a 60-year-old advice columnist who is suffering from Alzheimer's, and the effects of her illness on her daughter and granddaughter.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060177810
• ISBN13: 9780060177812
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 353 Pages
• Weight: 1.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

This will touch your heart

There are some detailed reviews of this book, so I will be brief. This is only the 2nd Delinsky book I have read and I have become a fan of her intelligent portrayals of some very controversial subjects. This book is written primarily from Francine's perspective and follows her journey from the meek assistant in the shadow of her famous mother to becoming the strength of the family. She struggles to accept her mother's deteriorating health and desperately wants to find out the secrets of Grace's early years. I am not certain if the description and details of Alzheimer's disease are accurate, but they are emotionally touching and surely seemed realistic! This story is not totally about Grace's failing mind. The issues brought to light in this book establish a great sense of love and strong family unity. There is a wonderful and sizzling romantic interest for Francine. I would not hesitate to recommend this novel to others or to read it again.

Does The Silver Spoon Feed The Soul?

SHADES OF GRACE is the most powerful, engrossing, and cathartic of the 25 novels I've read in Delinsky's collection. What a courageous way for an author to begin this story, from the viewpoint of a mind in early stages of Alzheimer's. With courage to carry a torch into the darkest corners of trauma, Delinsky treats soulful issues with such grace and compassion that the reader is entertained simultaneous to receiving a handbook for survival through catastrophe. Her logo should be a cornucopia spilling from a sunrise. Holding wounding memories of loved ones who suffered from Alzheimer's, I was hesitant to pick up this book. But, knowing that this author treats gut wrenching issues with gentle grace, yet without the slightest denial of the rigors of reality, I decided to take a dive. While I admired the technique of opening the story from the mental processes of Grace in her early struggles with Alzheimer's, as I began reading, I wondered if it might be ineffectively arrogant for an author to attempt to describe, from the deteriorating character's thoughts, a mental process of such complex nuance, which the author hadn't directly experienced herself. I was concerned that something so raw as a mind losing itself in a particular pattern would come across as a poor "best guess" riddled with wrong assumptions of cause and effect. I was not disappointed in any way in this real and poignant, special work of fiction. It was an emotionally satisfying, enlightening journey. The irony of Grace being an "Ann Landers" type of syndicated columnist was dealt with flawlessly, exposing elegantly how knowledge and practice of a precisely prescribed book of "Manners" can become a wasteland of emptiness when one is forcibly exposed to a more raw and honest guide to genuine courtesy and compassion. Who cares which fork is appropriate when the hand has forgotten where the mouth is. As SHADES OF GRACE evolves, a gentle blossoming occurs in a true family's caring about that vulnerable hand.

I Loved This Book

This is my second book by this author and I can't wait to read more. I couldn't put it down. I connected with all the characters and really cared about them. I didn't want the story to end.

Great story!

Who would have thought a story about someone diagnosised with dementia would be this good. Definately worth reading. Have the tissues close. It is a bit sad!

Awesome

I read this book about a year ago. It was one of the first ones that I read from this author. I laughed and I cried. How this book made me cry. It is a very touching close to home book. After reading Shades of Grace, I have continued to read books by this author. Shades of Grace continues to be one of my favorite all around books.