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Making Toast: A Family Story
by Roger Rosenblatt

Published: 2010-03-01
Hardcover : 176 pages
2 members reading this now
5 clubs reading this now
0 members have read this book
Recommended to book clubs by 2 of 2 members

"How long are you staying, Boppo?"

"Forever."

When his daughter, Amy?a gifted doctor, mother, and wife?collapses and dies from an asymptomatic heart condition, Roger Rosenblatt and his wife, Ginny, leave their home on the South Shore of Long Island to move in with their son-in-law, ...

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Introduction

(

"How long are you staying, Boppo?"

"Forever."

When his daughter, Amy?a gifted doctor, mother, and wife?collapses and dies from an asymptomatic heart condition, Roger Rosenblatt and his wife, Ginny, leave their home on the South Shore of Long Island to move in with their son-in-law, Harris, and their three young grandchildren: six-year-old Jessica, four-year-old Sammy, and one-year-old James, known as Bubbies. Long past the years of diapers, homework, and recitals, Roger and Ginny?Boppo and Mimi to the kids?quickly reaccustom themselves to the world of small children: bedtime stories, talking toys, playdates, nonstop questions, and nonsequential thought. Though reeling from Amy's death they carry on, reconstructing a family, sustaining one another, and guiding three lively, alert, and tender-hearted children through the pains and confusions of grief. As he marvels at the strength of his son-in-law, a surgeon, and the tenacity and skill of his wife, a former kindergarten teacher, Roger attends each day to "the one household duty I have mastered"?preparing the morning toast perfectly to each child's liking.

With the wit, heart, precision, and depth of understanding that has characterized his work, Roger Rosenblatt peels back the layers on this most personal of losses to create both a tribute to his late daughter and a testament to familial love. The day Amy died, Harris told Ginny and Roger, "It's impossible." Roger's story tells how a family makes the possible of the impossible.

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Discussion Questions

Suggested by Members

I found some questions online and wrote others. For a copy of the questions used, email me
by Librarian50 (see profile) 12/15/11

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

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Book Club Recommendations

Food Suggestions
by Librarian50 (see profile) 12/15/11
For a trip down memory lane, bring kid-friendly food, especially cookies your members would have enjoyed as children --such as animal crackers or graham crackers -- and serve with milk or chocolate milk.

Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
by Susan B. (see profile) 03/05/19

 
by Debbie L. (see profile) 04/08/18

 
  "We want an update"by Marisa S. (see profile) 12/27/11

Our book club could have written the review written by another reviewer. We too wanted an update as to how the family is coping now and what sort of reflections Rosenblatt would make now. We felt this... (read more)

 
  "We Want a Sequel!"by Janet B. (see profile) 12/15/11

Roger Rosenblatt and his wife moved in with their son-in-law after the death of their daughter, Amy, and helped take care of the grandchildren. One member commented on the dearth of dates and detailed... (read more)

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