The End of Your Life Book Club Discussion

Barbara, our BCDP winner!!!!

Book:  The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

Meeting Place:  Harvest Room -- Palos Heights, IL

Ratings:

Tracy - 1.75

Joyce - .5

Sherry - 1

Barbara - 2.5

Melissa - 2

Kathy - .5

Michaelene - 1.75

Kim - 2.25

Average Rating:  1.53

Discussion:   Kim chose this book based on all the great reviews and "hype".  Our book club strongly disagreed!  We were all very disappointed and bored reading this book.  Before we discuss the details, it needs to be said that we all felt sympathetic towards this family.  Unfortunately, we have all suffered losing loved ones to cancer and know firsthand how emotionally draining life can be.  

We tried.......we really tried to give this book a shot....but it just didn't cut it!  Early on in the meeting, it became apparent that everyone disliked this book.  We started the meeting with our low ratings.  Will's mother, Mary Anne, was diagnosed with an aggressive pancreatic cancer.  Mary Anne and her son, Will formed an informal book club at her treatments.  Most of the books that were discussed throughout were not of interest to any of us.  The conversations were boring and we all felt as if we needed to push our way through.  The best parts of the book were the mother's cancer updates, but not enough to gather up any interest.  We felt that this book might be interesting if we had a personal connection to the family. 

We met at the Harvest Room restaurant in Palos Heights.  Their concept is simple:  from the farm to the table.  We all enjoyed an organic or gluten free meal.  Kathy, Sherry, and Tracy especially loved visiting their old neighborhood and remembered this restaurant as Johnathon's.  Lastly, and certainly not least, Barbara brought her homemade Sour Cherry Pudding.  YUM! 

BCDP:  Being our newest member to the club, Kim didn't realize she was responsible for bringing the BCDP.  So, she promised the winner, Barbara, to bring her prize next month.  Our names were put into a hat and the waiter chose Barbara.....Congratulations!  

Recommendation:   Not one member of our group recommends this book!  

Book Recommendation - Melissa

Book:  The Island by Elin Hildebrand

After receiving an email from Melissa titled, "I loved the book!"  We all thought she was breaking her own rule and discussing August's book early.  BUT, we soon found out that she was recommending a book Sherry lent out.  Melissa claimed that The Island had a "summer" feel and urged us to read before summer was out.  This usual slow reader  knocked off a 403 paged novel in a week!  She lost sleep over this book reading until 1:45 am.  "today, on my day off, which I was savoring the notion of sleeping in, found myself drinking coffee and reading from 5:15 - 7:45."  WOW!  

So if you're looking for a quick, easy, summer read, try Melissa's recommendation The Island by Elin Hildebrand.

August Book Selection - Kim

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

Below is a description of the book (taken from Amazon) we will be reading in August.  We will discuss this book on Wednesday, August 28th.

"What are you reading?"

That's the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.  In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis.  Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less.

This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a "book club" that brings them together as her life comes to a close.  Over the next two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion for reading.  Their list jumps from classic to popular, from poetry to mysteries, from fantastic to spiritual.  The issues they discuss include questions of faith and courage as well as everyday topics such as expressing gratitude and learning to listen.  Throughout, they are constantly reminded of the power of books to comfort us, astonish us, teach us, and tell us what we need to do with our lives and in the world.  Reading isn't the opposite of doing; it's the opposite of dying.

Will and Mary Anne share their hopes and concerns with each other -- and rediscover their lives -- through their favorite books.  When they read, they aren't a sick person and a well person, but a mother and a son taking a journey together.  The result is a profoundly moving tale of loss that is also a joyful, and often humorous, celebration of life:  Will's love letter to his mother, and theirs to the printed page.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars - Joyce

Joyce slicing dessert with the bcpk!

Joyce added about 5 pounds to each of us with her Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars!  She served them warm, with honey drizzled on top.  They were INCREDIBLE!  Try them for yourself!

Ingredients:
2 cans Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls (8 oz each)
2 packages of cream cheese, softened (8 oz each)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBSP ground cinnamon
honey (warmed)

Directions:
1.  Heat oven to 350 F
2.  Unroll 1 can of dough.  Place it in the bottom of an ungreased 9X13 pan.  Stretch to cover bottom of pan, firmly pressing perforations to seal.
3.  In medium bowl, beat cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.  Beat in vanilla.
4.  Spread over dough in baking dish
5.  Unroll second can of dough and carefully place on top of cream cheese layer.  Pinch seams together.
6.  Pour melted butter evenly over top.  Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon.  Sprinkle evenly over butter.
7.  Bake about 30 minutes or until center is set.
8.  Cool slightly - about 20 minutes
9.  Refrigerate for easy cutting
10.  For true Sopapilla flavor, warm in microwave 5-10 seconds and drizzle honey on them.
11.  Fresh blueberries or pie filling can be put on cream cheese layer.

ENJOY!!!!!