Child of Earth and Starry Heaven - by L Annette Binder (Paperback)

About the Book

CHILD OF EARTH AND STARRY HEAVEN is the story of a daughter coming to terms with her mother's dementia. Sad and joyous, it is a meditation on what makes us human.

Book Synopsis

When L. Annette Binder's mother starts to forget things she's always known, Annette researches ways to keep her from losing touch with the world. They try supplements and exercise routines, light therapy and sound tracks with 40-Hertz clicks. Annette begins to speak German with her mother-something she'd resisted since immigrating to the United States with her parents years before. And when these therapies prove ineffective, Annette simply spends time with her mother. Hour upon hour in memory care, where Annette begins to see hints of a world almost invisible to outsiders, where residents might lose cognition but they remain capable of feeling and expressing love.

Child of Earth and Starry Heaven is a story of motherhood, memory and memory loss. It looks to mythology, science, fiction, history and poetry to find meaning and beauty even as Helena's cognition fades. Sad and joyous, it is a powerful meditation on the things that make us human and that connect us in even our darkest moments.

The author writes with the probing lyricism of a poet ... Readers will admire Binder's refusal of sentimentality, observant eye, and determination to grasp answers that seem always on the verge of evaporation. An illuminating and moving meditation on dementia.

-Kirkus ("Our Verdict: GET IT")

It took a very singular mind to write Child of Earth and Starry Heaven-and an even more singular love of a daughter for her mother. How can a book of grief so profoundly embolden our senses? This writing draws our attention to every precious moment of a life, and in doing so, enriches our own immeasurably. Read L. Annette Binder's devastatingly exhilarating chronicle of her mother Helena's last days-it will remind you to breathe, to be stunned that you can breathe.

-Michelle Latiolais, author of Widow and She

In Child of Earth and Starry Heaven, Binder turns the sadness of loss and tragedy into a thing of great beauty. It is the story of a daughter's love for her mother suffering from dementia, and it is told skillfully, carefully, with enormous heart, grace, kindness and compassion. This is a hauntingly powerful work of the sort only the very best of writers may hope to achieve in a lifetime.

-James Brown, author of Apology to the Young Addict

The devastating consequences of Alzheimer's disease have profound implications for patients, their families, and society. Drawing on insights ranging from poetry and literature to neuroscience and neurology, L. Annette Binder provides an eloquent first-hand account of her mother's decline into dementia. Filled with rich insight into the importance of memory and consequences of forgetting, Child of Earth and Starry Heaven is an essential book that both moves and informs.

-Daniel L. Schacter, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Seven Sins of Memory Updated Edition (2021)

Review Quotes

In this gorgeous memoir that bears witness to her mother's decline and death, L. Annette Binder allows us space to explore a fundamental truth of all our lives: "We all build our own paradise if we're lucky, and every one of us must leave it much too soon." In prose that deftly combines personal memory with research and poetry, Binder weaves a tapestry that reveals the many textures of love.

-Brenda Miller, author of A Braided Heart: Essays on Writing and Form

A beautiful and deeply moving memoir about a mother's descent into Alzheimer's and a daughter's quest to honor her mother through time ... Binder writes with heartfelt love for our common humanity ... She is a masterful writer, elegant, clear, purposeful, and wise. I didn't want the book to end.

-Sandell Morse, author of The Spiral Shell

Child of Earth and Starry Heaven is a profound meditation on identity and consciousness. Binder's prose is so exquisite that it borders on poetry as she charts the last few months of her mother's life and descent into Alzheimer's disease. As devastating and terrifying as dementia can be, Binder manages to find moments of grace and humor in the last precious days.

-Pamela Klinger-Horn, Valley Bookseller and Host of Literature Lovers' Night Out

A complete compendium of literary comfort and practical guidance ... suffused with warmth and with deep insight.

-Eileen MacDougall, Host of Book Stew

Filled with love, vulnerability, and strength ... This is a very, very special story that will leave a poignant mark on your heart.

-Tina Panik, Avon Public Library (Connecticut)

With grace and tenderness, Binder paints a portrait of her mother, revealing the woman's verve and making our witness to her decline quietly heartbreaking. Binder's self-portrait is compassionate, filled with curiosity and love, all rendered with sure and gentle strokes.

-Suzanne M. Lang, host of the NPR podcast, A Novel Idea

A gorgeous memoir of her mother's journey through Alzheimer's ... sensitive, thoughtful, and intelligent. An amalgam of personal thoughts, observations, and research, Binder takes this journey step by step with her beloved Mutter. This is an important read for all adult children to be prepared for their parents' possible future.

-Traci HalesVass, host of NPR podcast, Write On Four Corners

Transforms the intensely personal experience of escorting an elderly parent through the "labyrinth" of Alzheimer's Disease into a literary journey of finding one's way home--to key relationships; to the vital significance of language, place, and treasured things; and ultimately to one's very soul.

-Judith G. Russell, Library Director, Converse Public Library (New Hampshire)

Binder's captivating memoir takes us inside the memory-care facility where her mother was living out her final days. We learn about this merciless disease and experience the compassion, frustration, and enduring love she felt as she was saying farewell to a truly amazing woman.

-Vick Mickunas, Host of Book Nook on WYSO (Ohio)