When a loved one is diagnosed with cancer or other terminal illness, every frightened caregiver needs a way to understanding of the human side of fighting an illness and eventually surrendering to circumstances beyond one's control. This audiobook fulfills that essential mission. Korda courageously shares the story of his beloved wife, Margaret, and her battle with cancer. After losing strength in her right hand as well as losing her grasp of certain words and pronunciations, Margaret was diagnosed with a brain tumor. More tumors were later discovered in her brain and abdomen. Margaret bravely faced multiple treatments, but a cure was not available. Michael was at her side throughout the ordeal, always investigating symptoms and side effects, finding the best practitioners, and altering their home to accommodate Margaret's diminishing mobility. Narrator Henry Strozier reads the story in a sober, respectful voice. Modern medicine has prolonged life with serious illnesses, thus expanding the role and duration of caregiving. This story provides support for the growing population of caregivers. Verdict A perfect companion for books on cancer or other serious illnesses.--Ann Weber, Bellarmine Coll. Prep., San Jose, CA

Novelist and former Simon & Schuster editor-in-chief Korda (Clouds of Glory) delivers a heartfelt look at his wife, Margaret, who was diagnosed with brain cancer a year before she died at age 79. This intimate memoir is both a tribute to their 45-year marriage--during which they had been "each other's lover, companion, and best friend"--and an account of how looking "after someone who is dying gradually fills one's life to the exclusion of everything else" with "no manual that tells you what to do, what to expect, what to tell the person who's dying." Korda's account of Margaret's medical treatments--surgery, radiation, and rehabilitation--is made all the more striking as he details her lifetime of physical fitness, including riding horses competitively (and winning five national championships). He sensitively describes how Margaret's "present was becoming unbearable at a quickening rate" though he concludes that in the end her eyes showed not resignation but "perhaps even gratitude" that "the struggle was coming to an end." Lovingly told, Korda's memoir movingly captures the complexities of dealing with the death of a loved one. (Oct.)