Unforgettable

February 23, 2015
In this tender memoir developed from a series of Twitter messages, Simon, the host of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, finds the last week of his mother's life to be a time for them to cherish each other and tenderly reminisce. In his daily tweets, which garnered a considerable audience at the time, Simon recorded the last days of his mother's life as significant and newsworthy. An only child, Simon was raised by his mother, Patti, in a Chicago apartment. His comedian father's drinking became unbearable and his mother divorced him before he could bring down the family; he died when Simon was 16. Subsequently, Pattiâpretty, kind, and accommodatingâsold clothes at "posh shops" on Michigan Avenue, worked as a secretary in an advertising agency, and volunteered for styling hands and hair ads. She also entertained many suitors. Her vitality informed Simon's youth. As Patti lies dying of respiratory failure in a Chicago hospital, she and her son exchange "painful truths" while listening to Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable." Simon appreciates how generously Patti is treated by the staff at the hospital, which brings up memories of the "lovely" men who courted her. He takes his quirky, devoted, gracious mother on her own terms, and his work shimmers as a touching tribute.

February 1, 2015
As he sat at his dying mother's bedside in 2013, Simon (Baby We Were Meant for Each Other: In Praise of Adoption, 2010, etc.), the award-winning host of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, tweeted messages to his 1.2 million followers, recording the last moments of his mother's exuberant life.The author had flown to Chicago after learning his mother was in the intensive care unit. She had been about to travel to California for a summer-holiday visit with his family. Troubled by an annoying cough and weight loss, she decided to get a checkup before leaving. To her dismay, she learned that lung cancer that had been in remission had returned, and she had only days left to live. Simon found her hooked up to oxygen, gasping for breath and speaking with difficulty. Nonetheless, she retained her joie de vivre and savored memories of times they had shared and people they knew. This book is built around the tweets that he sent during that difficult time. They became the vehicle for him to memorialize her indomitable spirit as she gave "a last great performance." Her great love was the author's father, whom she divorced after his out-of-control alcoholism became destructive, and she had two subsequent marriages. Although it was Simon's father who had been a professional comedian, it was his mother's extraordinary sense of humor, gift of friendship and love of life that dominated his life. Even in the period when she was a single mother taking modeling jobs to support her son, they lived in style. "Dress for the job you want, not the one you have," was one of her mottoes. Another was "Never be afraid to go into a classy place." A charming tribute to a remarkable woman and the bond between mother and son.

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Starred review from March 1, 2015
Simon's memoir is so captivating that everyone, not just fans of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, will enjoy learning about the wellspring that nourished the award-winning journalist's wit, intelligence, heart, and chutzpah. Spoiler alert: it is Patricia Lyons Simon Newman Gelbin, Simon's thrice-married mother, whom he was privileged to escort to the very doorway of the beyond in the summer of 2013. Wait, an enjoyable memoir about a dying mother? Indeed. That is part of Simon'sread Patty'scharisma. During their days-long hospital haul, he posted numerous 140-character info bites on Twitter, in part to help relieve stress. What wasn't included in those hors d'oeuvresize tweets was the banquet of life he and Patty shared. While he camped out alongside her ICU bed 24/7, they had the luxury of strolling down memory lane, recalling funny, painful, embarrassing, but always colorful anecdotes. They laughed at corny family jokes and cried over Simon's self-destructive father and Patty's mother's suicide. They blushed over a single mother's discovery of her son's emerging puberty and grew wistful over all of it. Every child should have such an opportunity to be there for his or her mother in those final days and hours. Every mother should have such a gifted child.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

May 25, 2015
Simon delivers a powerful and heartfelt reading of his memoir, which recounts the last week he spent with his mother. As he sits by her hospital bed, Simon flashes back to various childhood memories, revealing a portrait of a gracious, elegant woman and a loving mother. Simon portrays his mother with steady, deliberate pacing that reveals her unending patience, love, and selflessness, while his inflections convey her calm consideration of the questions he asked. In revealing his memories, it is clear how Simon himself has adopted her ability to focus on the positive aspects in situations, embracing life and love in all gestures. While Simon offers accents and character voices to inject humor and lighten some of his recollections, he also allows for deft pauses and slow delivery to emphasize his awe and respect, such as when referring to nurses in the ICU. Simon provides thought-provoking social commentary on some of the paradoxes of the elderly in the United States and doctors who think they know it all. These observations are made all the more poignant by Simon's evocative portrayal of his mother during their frustrating and anxious search to find a doctor who would listen to what she was saying. Simon's moving story and narration is a beautiful tribute to his mother. A Flatiron hardcover.