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Under One Roof: Lessons I Learned from a Tough Old Woman in a Little Old House
Author:
Martin, Barry
CoAuthor:
Lerman, Philip
Biographee:
Macefield, Edith
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Class:
979.7772
Age: Adult
Language: English
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LC: F899.S45
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ISBN-13: 9781250003041
LCCN: 2013019390
Imprint: St. Martin's Press
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Pub Date: 10/15/2013
Availability: Out of Print Confirmed
List: $34.99
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Hardcover
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Physical Description:
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262 pages ; 22 cm
H 8.5",
W 5.5",
D 0.75",
1.06 lbs.
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LC Series:
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Bibliographies:
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Awards:
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Starred Reviews:
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TIPS Subjects:
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History, American--1900-1999
Construction
Women's Studies
Pacific Region--U. S.
Biography, Individual
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BISAC Subjects: |
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs
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LC Subjects:
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BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs
Ballard (Seattle, Wash.), Social life and customs
Macefield, Edith,, 1921-2008
Macefield, Edith,, 1921-2008, Friends and associates
Martin, Barry,, 1956-
Older women, Conduct of life
Older women, Washington, Seattle, Biography
Real estate development, Social aspects, Washington, Seattle
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| Annotations |
| Publisher Annotations | 08/22/2013 |
| Everyone knew what was going on in Ballard, Washington: developers were building a giant shopping mall, but a house belonging to a feisty octogenarian named Edith Wilson Macefield was in the way. They offered her a million dollars. She told them to take a hike. Everyone knew that Barry Martin, head of the construction project, was involved in the push to get her out of the house so that the project could proceed without further delay. Everyone was wrong. When Barry took the job as construction supervisor for the shopping mall that was being erected around Edith’s little house, he determined to make things as easy for her as he could. He didn’t expect that she’d ask him to drive her to a hair appointment—but he did offer to help, after all. And it was in that one small gesture that an unlikely friendship was sparked, one that changed them both forever. The story of Barry Martin and Edith Macefield is a tale of balance and compassion, of giving enough without giving too much, of helping our elderly loved ones through the tough times without taking away their dignity. In the end, it is a tale of grace, and one from which all of us can take solace and strength. From Barry and Edith we have much to learn about love and letting go and, just possibly, about seeing through fading light to find great joy. |
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| Journal Reviews |
| Booklist | 09/01/2013 |
| Life's most memorable experiences are often born out of the smallest moments. In 2006, Barry Martin, a construction foreman, knocked on the door of Edith Macefield, a crusty octogenarian who stubbornly refused to yield to a developer's offers to buy her house to make way for a shopping mall. Martin gives her his cellphone number, an act that leads to his becoming Edith's friend and primary caretaker and forming a bond between them that is as strong as it is unexpected. As Edith's health declines and she becomes increasingly dependent on and demanding of Martin, his response provides an object lesson in easing someone toward death with dignity, respect, and tolerance. Martin applies these same lessons when dealing with his father, who's diagnosed with Alzheimer's just as Edith enters his life. With an assist from journalist Lerman, Martin's memoir of his relationship with Edith is heartfelt and homespun. The wisdom he shares--you figure out the right thing to do, and you do it--will undoubtedly resonate with and inspire others struggling to care for elderly relatives or friends. Wetli, Patty. 272p. Booklist Online. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2013. |
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| Kirkus Reviews | 09/15/2013 |
| The true story of how two adversaries became good friends. When Martin became project superintendent in charge of building a new shopping mall in Ballard, Wash., he had no idea how his life would be changed by the one woman who refused to sell her house to the developers. Even though she'd been offered $1 million for her place, Edith wouldn't move. However, she was in her 80s and in need of help, so, with some trepidation, Martin took on the role of caregiver. After all, "this was a feisty old woman who seemed to have every intention of hanging on for a long time, and making my life as difficult as possible in the process." At first, he did little things, like driving Edith to her hair appointments, then he began cooking for her; eventually, as her health steadily declined, Martin became her main means of support. While the mall went up around her, Edith's personal walls came down, and Martin caught glimpses of the myriad, almost improbable lives she had lived. Told with frankness and sincerity, Martin, with the assistance of former USA Today editor Lerman, skillfully blends his deep desire to aid Edith with his frustrations with this cantankerous woman, his need to spend time with his own children and wife, and his thoughts and feelings toward his ailing parents. With a bit of humor and the determination to do right by this stranger-turned-close friend, Martin was able to help Edith do as she wished--spend the last years of her life in her home, surrounded by a lifetime's accumulation of books, music and trinkets. A tender tribute to Edith and her will to do things her way. 272pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2013. |
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