The Memory of All That, the last book by international bestselling author, Mary MacCracken, has just arrived!  In this poignant memoir, which Kirkus Reviews calls “[a] moving and frank remembrance of love and loss,” Mary tells the story of her long marriage to her brilliant husband, Cal—and of losing him to Alzheimer’s.

Over the first decades of their marriage, Mary and Cal help each other each achieve success in their work. Cal, having come up with one new idea after another, is called one of America’s most prolific inventors.  Mary, losing her job teaching autistic children, returns to college and then sets up her own practice.  Her first book is published and sells widely, followed by three more.  Love, for each other, their work, and their families, fills their lives.  

But then Cal’s keen mind begins to fail him. He forgets things, people he should know, even the way home. Faced with his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, the two draw on the same determination and belief in each other that marked their earlier years.  Always a fighter, Cal announces they’ll defeat Alzheimer’s and write a book about it. Mary finds ways to maintain their loving relationship despite the disease. Realizing she can’t deal with his disease alone, she also seeks advice and support from good friends, doctors, and social workers.  Though Cal worsens, he and Mary still enjoy sweet moments; they stay close and loving until the end.

The Memory of All That provides a valuable understanding of Alzheimer’s for caregivers, their families, and friends, showing them the disease is not shameful or terrifying, but manageable. A deftly told account of how love can persist and console despite life’s ordeals, it will also appeal to anyone simply seeking a good story.

Cal and Mary spent summers and most weekends (even in winter) in West Cornwall, CT.  Mary wrote her four earlier books about her work with autistic and learning-disabled children: Circle of Children, Lovey, City Kid, and Turn-About Children there. Her books have been published in fourteen countries and the first two were made into movies for television, starring the actress Jane Alexander. Her books have recently been republished (the first and last under new titles, The Lost Children and A Safe Place for Joey) and still attract a wide readership.  She died shortly before finishing this last memoir, which her daughter Susan Thistle has seen through publication.

For more information visit https://marymaccracken.com