The Gingerbread House: An incredibly honest, humbling and touching tale of one family's struggle with dementia
Mar 2017 · Black & White Publishing Ltd
4.5star
2 reviewsreport
Ebook
200
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
'Moving, honest, and darkly comic.' - Marian Keyes
'Gripping, heartbreaking, funny, surprising.' - Roddy Doyle
'Beautiful, heartbreaking, original, honest, unique.' - Cecelia Ahern
Life in the Gingerbread House is no fairy tale...
When Tess agrees to move into her aged mother-in-law's idyllic country cottage, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to escape the distractions of the city and start work on a novel. However, life in the Gingerbread House is no fairy tale. Tess is utterly unprepared for the reality of caring for Eleanor, who suffers from dementia.
Feeling increasingly isolated, she struggles to cope as Eleanor fluctuates between violent mood swings, child-like dependency and moments of heart-wrenching lucidity. Meanwhile, Tess's teenage daughter Katia is helpless to intercede; in the end she can only watch as things fall apart and a tragedy even closer to home surfaces.
Heart-breaking and hopeful in equal measure, The Gingerbread House addresses a struggle that many families face with compassion, honesty and a gentle humour that becomes so necessary when coping with the impact of dementia.
What readers are saying about The Gingerbread House:
'A small novel, with a huge heart ... Beaufoy has created a stunning and sensual read, which may just break even the hardest of hearts. Highly recommended.' - Margaret Madden, Sunday Independent
'You won't see the final, heart-rending twist in this taboo-tackling novel until it hits you. And it hits hard.' - The Sunday Post
'Darkly funny.' - Woman's Own
'A triumph. Darkly moving, beautifully written. A counterpoint to the disturbing them is the deft and beautifully readable prose. Couldn't put it down.' - Pippa James, author of The Secret Life of Lucy Lovecake
'Charming, funny, tender and sad, and devastatingly readable. I will never forget it.' - Hilary Mortz
'Frank and incredibly moving.' - Book-Drunk Blog
'A most original, thought-provoking and all too real story.' - Amazon Reviewer
'Gripping, heartbreaking, funny, surprising.' - Roddy Doyle
'Beautiful, heartbreaking, original, honest, unique.' - Cecelia Ahern
Life in the Gingerbread House is no fairy tale...
When Tess agrees to move into her aged mother-in-law's idyllic country cottage, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to escape the distractions of the city and start work on a novel. However, life in the Gingerbread House is no fairy tale. Tess is utterly unprepared for the reality of caring for Eleanor, who suffers from dementia.
Feeling increasingly isolated, she struggles to cope as Eleanor fluctuates between violent mood swings, child-like dependency and moments of heart-wrenching lucidity. Meanwhile, Tess's teenage daughter Katia is helpless to intercede; in the end she can only watch as things fall apart and a tragedy even closer to home surfaces.
Heart-breaking and hopeful in equal measure, The Gingerbread House addresses a struggle that many families face with compassion, honesty and a gentle humour that becomes so necessary when coping with the impact of dementia.
What readers are saying about The Gingerbread House:
'A small novel, with a huge heart ... Beaufoy has created a stunning and sensual read, which may just break even the hardest of hearts. Highly recommended.' - Margaret Madden, Sunday Independent
'You won't see the final, heart-rending twist in this taboo-tackling novel until it hits you. And it hits hard.' - The Sunday Post
'Darkly funny.' - Woman's Own
'A triumph. Darkly moving, beautifully written. A counterpoint to the disturbing them is the deft and beautifully readable prose. Couldn't put it down.' - Pippa James, author of The Secret Life of Lucy Lovecake
'Charming, funny, tender and sad, and devastatingly readable. I will never forget it.' - Hilary Mortz
'Frank and incredibly moving.' - Book-Drunk Blog
'A most original, thought-provoking and all too real story.' - Amazon Reviewer
Ratings and reviews
4.5
2 reviews
A Google user
- Flag inappropriate
July 10, 2017
Deep and thought provoking. The more you read the more you become entwined in real life tragedy.
About the author
Kate Beaufoy has an MA in French and English literature from Trinity College Dublin. As Kate Thompson she has had a dozen novels published, including the Number One bestseller The Blue Hour, which was shortlisted for the RNA award. Kate has contributed to numerous publications and broadcast media in both Ireland and the UK. A former actress, she was the recipient of a Dublin Theatre Festival Best Actress Award. She lives some of the year in Dublin and some on the West coast of Ireland, and is happily married with one daughter. Kate is an advanced-level scuba diver, a wild swimmer, and the keeper of a bewitching Burmese cat.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
