How to Forget: A Daughter's Memoir

The seller was spot on as far as described in very good condition but I have not read this yet. I expect it to be just as good or better than her first book, and I really look forward to getting into this one.

I appreciated the honesty in which the author portrayed her family as well as how difficult it was caring for her mother.

I am always on the search for new biographies to read. So, when I casually searched for Kate Mulgrew, an actress I have always liked, I was pleasantly surprised to see she had written two. To read these books back to back was quite an experience and one I recommend highly. The first book centers on her childhood and becoming an actress. The second centers on her parents and their last years and coping with their illnesses and death. Both books were extremely well written. Ms. Mulgrew can certainly turn a phrase. I could go on and on, but to keep this succinct, please do yourself a favor and read these beautiful books. I hear she is working on another book, which I look forward to very much.

340 pages in 7 hours - 2 sittings - 1 dayThat’s how long it took me to complete a beautiful journey traversing through intriguing family dynamics, interesting anecdotes, unforgettable moments, treasured memories - beautifully woven and lyrically penned by the actor and author par excellence, Kate Mulgrew.The brutally honest recollection of every episode down to its minutest details, the conversations - from fleeting to philosophical, and the emotions - from funny to heartbreaking to heartwarming - speaks volumes about Ms. Mulgrew’s mastery in the art of storytelling.This is a story of Love, Loss, and Laughs. And I, for one, absolutely LOVE the Old-World-Romance between Thomas and Joan. And while some may think of it as tragic, there is an enigmatic sanctity and unspoken beauty to the bond shared between these two lovers that comes through wonderfully in this book.Two young people that fell in love and promised each other the moon. But somewhere along the way, life happened, and even though they lost their way, they still could never muster the courage to walk away from the relationship they shared.What held them together? The tears of the tragedies? The remnants of the smiles they once shared? Or their faith - shaken but not entirely lost? Reading this book just proves that Love is far more complicated, and far more powerful than we can comprehend!How To Forget - also explores the nature of the relationship each of the Mulgrew kids shared with their parents, and each other. And while some kids got the love and attention and shared camaraderie, some definitely felt left out.And thus, the quiet and mysterious nature of Laura’s relationship with her parents continues to haunt me. You can feel the sadness in her words as she looks at her comatose father, and you can feel the longing to be loved and accepted not just as “one amongst the many kids,” but to be loved, acknowledged, and accepted for who she was - as a daughter, and as an individual.There is strangely, a hint of hope in her resignation, and a yearning in her presence during those last moments with her father, and therein lies the tragedy - for a daughter to never know what she actually meant to her father or mother.There’s tragedy, and then, there’s beauty. Besides Joan and Thomas, there’s another love story that the author brings out subtly but with elan: Lucy-Javier’s love story that stood the tests of time and borders! Absolutely love the simple yet powerful way in which the author showcases their love and commitment to each other.Verdict:Brutally Honest. Heartbreakingly Tragic. Heartwarmingly Beautiful. An Absolute Must Read.How To Forget - A Daughter’s Memoir is an extraordinary story of a family that will tug at your heartstrings for sure!

I had no idea who Kate Mulgrew was before I stumbled upon this book on Amazon. Although I found most of it an engaging read, I could not get past the constant egotism Ms. Mulgrew projects. She doesn't just live in California; she lives in Holmby Hills. She relocates not just to NYC, but to the Upper West Side. She pays for live-in help for her parents, buys another house to make medical care more available to her mom. She goes not just on a cruise to with her mother to the Aegean, but on a Seabourne cruise; she mentions the cruise line at least twice.But most disturbing of all was the fact that she subjected her mentally compromised mom to public and visible outings where mom invariably urinates on herself. She takes her to NY and allows her to drink to excess in a bar. It was cruelty that I had a hard time overlooking.I had planned to buy Born with Teeth, Ms. Mulgrew's other book, but decided against it when I realized it was an account of her rise to fame. Oh, and if you want more proof of this woman's narcissism, find Tom Mulgrew's obit, which has as its first line, "...father of the actress Kate Mulgrew."All in all, a sad testimony to Ms. Mulgrew, and I feel sure she doesn't even realize it.

Thank you Ms. Mulgrew for a beautifully written memoir. I am grateful for your words. I highly recommend this moving portrayal of family love.

Kate Mulgrew’s second book, How To Forget: A Daughter’s Memoir, is quite a different tale from her earlier Born With Teeth. The former covered her acting career, up to the early years of Star Trek: Voyager. I am a fan of both her acting and her writing.How To Forget has very little to do with Mulgrew’s life in the theater and everything to do with the deaths of her parents and her relationships with her five surviving siblings.The whole family was heavily influenced by the childhood deaths of two sisters, one as an infant, and one from inoperable cancer as a young teen.Mulgrew gives us the lives and eventual deaths of her parents, separated by only a couple of years. While her father died fairly quickly after a terminal cancer diagnosis, preferring not to endure treatment, her mother spent several years fading away with Alzheimer’s Disease, eventually requiring 24/7 care, totally unresponsive.Having lost both my parents to cancer and my husband to the lingering effects of Alzheimer’s, I found Mulgrew’s story very relatable. On the other hand, her description of her parents, rather distant by nature from one another and from their large brood of children, made me grateful for the astoundingly normal family I grew up in.Definitely a book worth reading, especially for anyone who has or will be trying to help parents deal with the end of life—and that’s really all of us, isn’t it?

Recommend. Interesting can’t put down book

How to forget is not only a thankful collection of memories or a simple balance about the individuals that gave life to us. It is a compassionate search for what children's love for their own parents is all about and how it is influencing one's life and heart all the way long. Kate Mulgrew tried to unreveal the mystery our fathers are to us daughters and the unspoken bonding with our mothers that cannot be understood by others if even by ourselves. This is a beautifully written book and a touching glimpse on what it is to be caring for the ones most loved until the ultimate goodbye. A clear recommendation!

I thought this book was awesome. It made me think about my own life and my relationship with my parents and my brother. It was interesting to find out about Kate's background. When I bought the book I hadn't realized that she had played Captain Janeway. I found it funny as Voyager was the only Star Trek series I enjoyed. ( My husband is the Star Trek fan.)Deserved my 5 stars.

Uno de los mejores libros que he leído sobre este tema: la vida de una familia y como afrontar la pérdida de parte de ella. Claramente una gran escritora, claramente una gran historia. Un estilo excelente, una historia atrayente. Espero que escriba muchos más

The depth of this book kept me glued to the pages as well as the descriptive writing style that gives the reader a way to see past the words and immerse themselves in the story.