Books
- Paperback Edition
- ISBN: 978-1-55861-701-8
- Publication Date: 05-01-2011
- Page Count: 256
- Categories: Forthcoming, Memoir/Biography
- Search within this book, powered by Google.
PAT MACENULTY is a teacher, writing coach, and freelance editor. She holds a Ph.D. from the Creative Writing Program at Florida State University.
Wait Until Tomorrow
Like all mothers, mine had a set of maxims that she thought were important to impart to me: if you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all (unless it's irresistibly funny); it's as easy to fall in love with a rich man as it is with a poor man (a nice idea in theory); if you want to commit suicide, wait until tomorrow (advice which has, it turns out, saved my life).
Like many daughters of elderly parents, Pat MacEnulty finds herself in a maze of health care negotiations and agonizing life choices when her mother can no longer care for herself. Pat's mother, who stood by her through her darkest years as a drug addict, was a small-town icon as a composer, pianist, and musical director. But suddenly she is unable to be the accomplished, independent person she once was. Pat struggles to manage her mother's care while cultivating her own relationship with her teenage daughter, who is at the precarious age when drug addiction changed Pat's life forever. Through heartbreak, frustration, and unwavering loyalty, Pat finds her own strength, humor, and rebelliousness at the most unlikely moments.
"An inspiring story of love, loss and the ravages of aging."
"Pat MacEnulty provides an honest, searing look at how her mother—a distinguished musician bursting with energy and wit—enters the last frontier of her life, still demanding the spotlight though its glow now comes from her talented, overworked daughter. There is urgency here: desires that can never be satisfied, illnesses that must be survived, love that pulls at the boundaries of hope and despair and yet stubbornly persists. Beautifully written, this is a poignant, necessary book!"
“A spare, disciplined prose that no one will be able to read without thinking of Hemingway. But MacEnulty has made the style her own…Every story is a new demonstration that MacEnulty has that rare ability to convince, wholly, in very few words.”
“MacEnulty writes with sympathy, wisdom and—an unexpected blessing—humour.”
"Wait Until Tomorrow is a profound story about life and love and loss, growing up and growing old, holding on and letting go. There is a song of beauty and truth on every page."
"This beautiful book about death and dying, written from the point of view of a daughter, a caregiver who was wise enough to care about her own life, is also a lively and even funny book."
NEA Grant will help fund the digitization of 15 Feminist Press classics, and the publication of three extraordinary literary works: Savage Coast by Muriel Rukeyser, Kissing the Sword: A Prison Memoir by Shahrnush Parsipur, and The Silent Woman by Monika Zgustova.
