Edna has suffered losses as she has aged, and now she faces a late-life cancer diagnosis. Edna’s son, Andrew, is home for a visit. Together they try to bridge the gulf between the love they shared in his childhood and the polite but baffling relationship they now live with. Mother and son stumble toward honesty as they wrestle with the phantoms—both mundane and profound—that keep them from real connection.

Two plays exploring the struggle of mental illness by the Tony Award–winning “giant of American theater” and author of Hurlyburly (Chicago Tribune). Good for Otto, which premiered in October 2015 at the Gift Theatre in Chicago, is a “sprawling drama of mental illness” in which “Mr. Rabe digs into his subject with a depth that almost feels bottomless.” Drawing on material from Undoing Depression by psychotherapist Richard O’Connor, it explores the lives of a therapist and his many patients, all trying to navigate personal trauma (Charles Isherwood, The New York Times). Visiting Edna, which premiered in September 2016 at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, is a drama of “deeply searing power” about the bond between mother and son. As Edna faces a short future plagued by her many illnesses—and a cancer that looms so large it becomes another character—she and her adult son struggle to communicate about their shared past as they contemplate the future (Variety). Taken together, the plays offer a satisfying glimpse into “Rabe’s theatrical universe . . . at once vivid and mysterious, a pageant and a puzzle” of contemporary American life (John Lahr, The New Yorker). “Many would list [Rabe] among the very greatest of living playwrights.” —Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

Attempts to understand recent changes in the canon of American literature through the aid of psychoanalytic theory.

Tomorrow: A Memoir of Love, Family, and Dealing with Dementia presents, as an open book, the recollections and insights of Andrew J. Rickert, whose sister, Edna, faced the affliction of dementia. Authorized by her power of attorney to serve as her agent, he searched for and found ways to balance his financial, legal, and administrative duties with his lifelong ties that bound the two together as sister and brother. After providing a sketch of his familys background and history, the author recounts a series of observations about events and encounters with Edna. The clear vision that comes only in hindsight enables him to point out the warning signs he missed in the moment. In the next group of chapters, he recounts the events that transpired in a series of five visits. Finally, an epilogue provides a summary and a sense of closure to the account. Throughout the pages of Tomorrow: A Memoir of Love, Family, and Dealing with Dementia, the author blends together his own perceptions of his family history with the account of his work as his sisters agent. This mix enables the reader to approach the book both as one mans memoir and as a narrative that provides guidance to anyone who may face the duties of serving as a loved ones agent.

The first and greatest book of regional American cuisine, now revised for today’s home cook. Imagine a person with the culinary acumen of Julia Child, the inquisitiveness of Margaret Mead, and the daring of Amelia Earhart. This is Clementine Paddleford, America’s first food journalist. In the 1930s, Paddleford set out to do something no one had done before: chronicle regional American food. Writing for the New York Herald Tribune, Gourmet, and This Week, she crisscrossed the nation, piloting a propeller plane, to interview real home cooks and discover their local specialties. The Great American Cookbook is the culmination of Paddleford’s career. A best seller when first published in 1960 as How America Eats, this coveted classic has been out of print for thirty years. Here are more than 500 of Paddleford’s best recipes, all adapted for contemporary kitchens. From New England there is Real Clam Chowder; from the South, Fresh Peach Ice Cream; from the Southwest, Albondigas Soup; from California, Arroz con Pollo. Behind all the recipes are extraordinary stories, which make this not just a cookbook but also a portrait of America.

Doctrine and Difference: The Thematic Scale of Classic American Literature aims to expand and deepen our knowledge into the inquiry of “contextual historicism,” observing writers of the American nineteenth century, and their vastly differing approaches to perceptions such as race, gender, and national identity. Ranging from the religious acuities of the first American Puritans to the more secularized literary awakening of the American Renaissance and into late-century texts that deliberately resist the limits of received religious and political opinion, this volume seeks to uncover a history of human thought within classic American Literature. This volume critically observes these survivable works of literature, presenting insight into the “difference” made by conversation, dispute, and dramatized self-doubt within novels and poems of the historical past.

Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Today, it’s easier than ever to connect with another person. Thanks to social media apps like Facebook, we have opened ourselves up to become available at all hours of the day. While this makes people stay connected virtually, our modern lives are making us less connected as we no longer connect with physical people but simulations of them. And not only is technology providing us with an endless network of people, but it is also equipping us with robots who can do more than just take on mindless or dangerous tasks. Now, robots are providing humans with care and demanding that we care for them. In Alone Together, author Sherry Turkle explores the power of these new technologies and shares both sides of today’s digital culture. As you read, you’ll learn how robots can be therapeutic for the elderly, why being constantly connected leads to stress, and why people use virtual avatars to cope with the stresses of life. Do you want more free book summaries like this? Download our app for free at https://www.QuickRead.com/App and get access to hundreds of free book and audiobook summaries. DISCLAIMER: This book summary is meant as a preview and not a replacement for the original work. If you like this summary please consider purchasing the original book to get the full experience as the original author intended it to be. If you are the original author of any book on QuickRead and want us to remove it, please contact us at [email protected].