Making Toast

Although profoundly sad, as would any book about the loss of a child, there is hope and recovery in this memoir as well. Roger Rosenblatt, writer and producer, has captured a range of emotions in his story of the sudden and unexpected death of his 38 yr old daughter, Amy. I lost my only son, and I know I felt like the friend of his that he describes in the book that was more than just a little angry at God. I still feel like him sometimes. However, as much as this book is about loss, it is also about how life must go on for those left behind and what that looks like on a daily basis. He views how each of the family members handles their loss differently and how each tries to pick up parts of Amy for the sake of each other and her three small children. It is comforting to read through the daily routines, the kind gestures, the periods of profound sadness, and come away with the sense that time will lessen the grief even if it does not make it go away. Grandparenting takes on a whole new dimension for Roger and his wife, Ginny, or maybe I should just say parenting because they really step up to the plate for their son in law and move in to take care of Amy's three very young children. It becomes a family affair to envelop, love, shelter, and nurture Jessie, Sammy and Bubbies. Thank you Roger, for sharing such a personal and deeply sad part of your life and helping all of your readers realize that those of us who are left have to get up every day and make the toast or anything else that will help us move on. It is an affirmation that we all need to be reminded of from time to time.

'Making Toast' is the kind of book that brings a 'pow' to you from the get-go. Roger Rosenblatt and his wife awoke one early morning to hear that their beloved daughter, Amy, had a sudden cardiac death. How do you cope with something like this? The best you can. Amy, a 38 year old Pediatrician was married to a physician who is a hand surgeon. They had 3 wonderful children. At the news of her death, her mother and father moved in with Harrison, the father, and the 3 children. Life is not fair, and this death leaves everyone wondering why. The Rosenblatts had never been religious, and this incident left them with so many questions. How could this happen, why oh why. There never seemed to be an answer. They just dug in and life as they knew it changed forever. Roger Rosenblatt has always been a prolific writer, and taught at Harvard and now teaches writing at a college on Long Island. He has been a PBS spokesperson on the Lehrer report. Now, here he was as 'Boppo' the grandkids word for grandfather, rearing 3 small children. He tells of their trials and tribulations. The therapist, the children and Harrison saw, and how they all started to come to grips with reality. There are many family members who intersperse here and there. One of the most important lessons learned is to say 'I love you' to those that you love. Boppo would talk everyday with each of his children. He got to know them better. He and his wife have learned how important it is to keep in touch. Roger is a marvelous writer and this book kept me entranced. I would love to ask how everyone is- James, Sammy and Jessica. Everyone in the family feels Amy's presence. They know she is near. The first year is over and they begin the second year without Amy which seems even more difficult. Thinking of all of you. Highly Recommended. prisrob 01-15-09 Rules for Aging: A Wry and Witty Guide to Life Lapham Rising: A Novel (P.S.)

This is the story of how a nonreligious family copes with the unbearable loss of a loving and well loved daughter, wife, and mother. Amy Rosenblatt Solomon is happily married, works two days a week as a physician so she can devote more of her time to her young family, to whom she is devoted. The youngest of her three children is only year old. Yet Amy dies suddenly while on the treadmill in her family home, with two of her children in the room with her as the only witnesses. It is inexplicable, unbearable, impossible, but it is reality, and the family has no choice but to cope. Her parents, Roger and Ginny Rosenblatt, move in with their grandchildren and their son-in-law to help. This is an account of the first year. It is honest, seasoned with humour and darkness. The page after Rosenblatt tells us just how severely he cursed the God he doesn't believe cares about human beings anyway, we read of the adjustments grandparents make to having children in their lives again, in this case, the talking toys that have re-entered their lives and embarrass them by speaking up from within their suitcases at the airport. They learn where the toys, tape, and tools are kept, how everybody likes their breakfast, and they learn again that children have no respect for sequential thoughts. They also learn that belief that things will be better after a year is a delusion. Grief is a lifelong process, and their therapist tells them, a year is no time at all. A year is harder because that is when you realize it isn't really going to get better. This is how life will be from now on. And yet, go on they do, making toast, taking children to and from their lessons and play dates, eating together, loving each other, and keeping Amy's memory alive, trying to raise her children as she would have had them raised. This is a story of grief, pain, sorrow, and grace, love within a strong family, the support of friends, and the laughter of small children, as well their own unique and heartbreaking ways of grieving.

"Making Toast" is the anatomy of grief. Roger Rosenblatt's talented beautiful doctor daughter, Amy, dropped dead of a previously undiagnosed heart anomaly, leaving a husband and three young children. Roger and his wife, Ginny, moved in to help their son-in-law care for the children - their grandchildren. Yes, you will cry in this book. I also laughed out loud. The book slips easily in and out of the mourning, the trite details of daily life, and memories of Amy's childhood. There is nothing any of them can do except "make do." I was charmed by the book. It will tug at your heart strings. I hope the writing of it helped that loving family. We might all get some lessons on how to help and what to say when the unspeakable happens.