This may be my favorite book I’ve read this year. Fingersh has written a brilliant, beautiful book about grief, the ripple effects of a family member’s mental illness, and the emotional toll of loving and caring for others who are struggling with chronic illness (both mental and physical) without losing yourself along the way.

Stay weaves together three seemingly disparate threads: 1) the story of Fingersh’s younger brother Danny, who lived with debilitating, undiagnosed mental illness and tragically died at the age of 26; 2) years later, her daughter’s diagnosis of ulcerative colitis while a freshman in college; and 3) Fingersh’s own turmoil of turning 50 without having accomplished her lifelong goal of becoming a successful writer. Through it all, Fingersh writes with humor, wisdom, and an abundance of love — for everyone around her, and finally, for herself.

Stay is for anyone who has loved someone with mental illness, anyone in midlife grappling with feelings of failure, anyone who enjoys memoirs with a powerful emotional core, and creatives who are living with untapped potential or struggle to give themselves permission to follow their own dreams amidst the relentless and sometimes excruciating demands of life.

I cried most of the way through. Julie did a great job of capturing the heartbreak of being a mother trying to let her kids grow up and a sister grieving. The grieving never ends No matter how long it has been. Her stories are interwoven perfectly and it was hard to put down.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC and Julie Fingersh for writing a powerful memoir. It is hard to consider caregiver burden when you are trying to help care the mental and emotional load of a loved one. As someone who has personally experienced the pressure to keep family secrets and hide them away from others that live outside of the family, even if friends can be bigger loves than family, it was insightful to move through her journey will reflecting on my own. Thank you!

What a great book. I loved it. It kept me turning pages well past bedtime, from the for page to the last.