{"product_id":"counting-backwards-9781641294683","title":"Counting Backwards","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA middle-aged couple struggles with the husband’s descent into early onset Lewy Body dementia in this profound and deeply moving novel shot through with Kirshenbaum’s lacerating humor.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt begins with hallucinations. From their living room window, Leo sees a  man on stilts, an acting troupe, a pair of swans paddling on the  Manhattan streets below. Then he’s unable to perform simple tasks and  experiences a host of other erratic disturbances, none of which his  doctors can explain. Leo, 53, a research scientist, and Addie, a collage  artist, have a loving and happy marriage. They’d planned on many more  years of work and travel, dinner with friends, quiet evenings at home  with the cat. But as Leo’s periods of lucidity become rarer, those  dreams fall away, and Addie finds herself less and less able to cope  with an increasingly unbearable present.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEventually, Leo is  diagnosed with early onset dementia in the form of Lewy body disease.  Life expectancy ranges from 3 to 20 years. A decidedly uncharacteristic  act of violence makes it clear that he cannot live at home. He moves  first to an assisted living facility and then to a small apartment with a  caretaker, where, over time, he descends into full cognitive decline.  Addie’s agony, anger, and guilt result in self-imposed isolation, which  mirrors Leo’s diminished life. And so for years, all she can do is watch  him die—too soon, and yet not soon enough.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKirshenbaum captures  the pair’s final years, months, and days in short scenes that burn with  despair, dark humor, and rage, tracking the brutal destruction of the  disease as well as the moments of love and beauty that still exist for  them.","brand":"Soho Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51020196348247,"sku":"9781641294683","price":21.6,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781641294683.jpg?v=1750782730","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/counting-backwards-9781641294683","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}