Bought on Kindle and finished Mo 5/29/17, Memorial Day. The author came to the May meeting of the Contemporary Book Club. She talked a little about the book, although she did not want to speak before the group, she just wants to become a member. I thought I would give it a chance, and I loved it!
Link to amazon-
https://www.amazon.com/Brought-Our-Senses-Family-Novel-ebook/dp/B01KKGQSAY/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1496147776&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=amazon+books+kathleen+wheeler+brought+us+together
Krause Family Saga. Set in Springfield, IL. Mel-O-Cream, Gabatoni's. Janice's final nursing home is in Litchfield, Il.
Janice- Born in 1930, Nebraska. Grim and unhappy childhood. Married to Ron during the Korean conflict.
Tom- oldest and only son. Janice wants him to distance him from the family and leave the conflicts behind and have successful life. He's at least twelve years older than the youngest, and probably the closest to his father because he was around when Janice's marriage was still viable.
Failed marriage to Audrey, but clicks with Jane. Two kids, Vicky and Evan
Jessica- When Janice kicks Ron out, she becomes the mother. Janice must go back to work and Duke, a small business owner set in Belleville, Il, but has a satellite office in Springfield and Janice helps to run it. Jessica Gets pregnant and has an early marriage just to escape The Krause Conflicts.
Failed marriage to Vince, but has four kids that she raises on her own. Jack, Megan, Justin, Becca.
Terri- 'Carrot Top'. The Krause Rebel; acts out and very resentful and violent to Elizabeth. Terri sees that Elizabeth is the favorite and fights for attention. Janice puts her in an all girls Catholic school and she gets expelled; smoking cigarettes, taunting the nuns, and swearing. She does get her GED, but doesn't attend to commencement.
No husband, but has two daughters that she raises on her own; Ashley and Amanda.
Elizabeth- The youngest and the favorite. Janice learns early that Elizabeth is extremely intelligent but Ron feels that she is destined to become a housewife and special schooling would be a waste. Janice never mentions this until Elizabeth is in the the eight grade and qualifies for an advanced math class. Terri is seething.
The most successful marriage. John is a few years older and has an advanced degree. He is stable and supportive. Two daughters, Claire and Katie.
Early in her career Janice begins an affair with Duke. Everyone knows or suspects, except Elizabeth. Janice hates Ron, but really drove him away. He knew of the affair because he read a love letter in their lock box that Janice wrote to Duke. Elizabeth believed Janice that Ron was a cad and never learns the truth until Janice is too far gone with Alzheimer's.
When Janice is losing her memory she becomes kind of involved with Harold. He is Elizabeth's father in law (John's father) and feels that the Krause family is too hard on Janice. She's just fine but only experiencing normal 'senior moments'. He tries to gain legal control of Janice. The Krause's win.
On a trip to Las Vegas, Janice wakes up and doesn't know where she is or who is Harold. Then Harold realizes that there is much more going on with Janice.
QUESTIONS-
Where was Duke when Harold was wooing Janice?
Early in the disease, Janice has weird eating impulses. At a wedding reception for one of the daughters, she eats chocolate cake with salt, and eats potato salad sandwiches. Is this a symptom of the disease. (My father's compulsion to eat sugar substitutes with soup or chili).
How is normal dementia different from Alzheimer's?
I loved the novel and thought it would take a long time to read. I saw the 'family tree' at the beginning and I thought that I would be lost, confused, and dejected by page twelve, but this was not the case. I raced through the book and finished in just a couple of days. When the novel ends, I wished that I could continue learning about the characters, and this very rarely happens to me.
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