Together: a memoir of a marriage and a medical mishap

✍ Scribed by Judy Goldman

• Publisher: Nan A. Talese/Doubleday
• Year: 2019
• Tongue: en-US
• Weight: 135 KB
• Edition: First edition
• Category: Fiction
• City: United States.
• ISBN: 0385543956

✦ Synopsis

*A routine procedure left novelist, memoirist, and poet Judy Goldman's husband paralyzed.Together __ is her unforgettable account of the struggle to regain their "normal" life and a nuanced portrait of a marriage tested.*

When Judy Goldman's husband of almost four decades reads a newspaper ad for an injection to alleviate back pain, the outpatient procedure sounds like the answer to his longtime backaches. But rather than restoring his tennis game, the procedure leaves him paralyzed from the waist down--a phenomenon none of the doctors the family consults can explain. Overnight, Goldman's world is turned upside down. Though she has always thought of herself as the polite, demure wife opposite her strong, brave husband, Goldman finds herself thrown into a new role as his advocate, navigating byzantine hospital policies, demanding and refusing treatments, seeking solutions to help him win back his independence.
Along the way, Goldman flashes back to her memories of their life together. As she tries envision her family's future, she discovers a new, more resilient version of herself. Together is a story of the life we imagine versus the life we lead--an elegant and empathetic meditation on partnership, aging, and, of course, love.

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Review

"Together is a riveting account of a strong marriage tested when a routine medical procedure goes terribly wrong. Judy Goldman beautifully shows us the challenges and setbacks but also the triumphs as two people find strengths within themselves to create a new life together."
--Ron Rash, author the New York Times bestseller, _Serena _

"Part love story, part medical mystery, _Together* explores the rich terrain of a marriage during a period fraught with uncertainty and stress . . . a celebration of what truly matters in life: the power of love, the importance of forgiveness, and the necessity of accepting that some things remain unknowable."
--Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of _Orphan Train and A Piece of the World
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"Judy Goldman is that rare writer whose inward gaze forces her reader to gaze inward as well, revealing something both brutal and beautiful about the world in which we live. . . .I loved this book. I really loved this book."
--Wiley Cash,New York Times bestselling author of A Land More Kind Than Home and _The Last Ballad _
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"In Together, Judy Goldman explores the many paths--both bumpy and blissful--that a happy marriage navigates over many years. Although a medical mishap sends Goldman on this exploration, ultimately she lays bare not illness but strength: strength of character and family and endurance and, mostly, love."
--Ann Hood, author of * The Book That Matters Most**
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"Together . . . is part portrait of a 40-year marriage and part indictment of our medical system. Goldman's beautiful, deeply honest book is for anyone who has faced down change."
**--Real Simple **

"Honest and compassionate, Goldman’s book is a life-affirming story that celebrates the grit that goes into making a long-term marriage work. A moving portrait of ‘young love turning into old love’ in the face of unexpected life challenges.”
--Kirkus Reviews

“Goldman offers a tender view of her marriage and a suspenseful account of her husband’s frustrating struggle to regain mobility . . . this loving tribute to her husband and to the solidness of their union will engage and inspire readers.”
*--Publishers Weekly *

"Please read Judy Goldman’s Together. This memoir is funny and heartbreaking. It’s about a role-reversing love founded on grit and determination, true as a heart-aimed arrow."
--George Singleton, author of _Staff Picks _

"Goldman’s _Together* is a beautiful, haunting portrayal of young love growing into old love despite the unexpected and stunningly swift changes life’s inevitable forward momentum can bring. This exquisite memoir doesn’t shy away from the hard truths of marriage; rather it confirms that marriage can mellow into something different, deeper, and far greater than young lovers ever imagine, despite crushing heartbreak along the journey."
--Michel Stone, author of _Border Child _

"Anyone who has found themselves unexpectedly immersed in a loved one’s battle to survive with all its complications and trials will find Judy not just an engaging writer, but an indispensable companion in the struggle. _Together *touched me with its humanity and honesty."
--George Hodgman, author of _Bettyville _

"Deeply moving and poignant, delicate and powerful, _Together* is a memoir about love and loss, acceptance and resilience."
--Tova Mirvis, author of _The Book of Separation*

About the Author

JUDY GOLDMAN is the author of two award-winning poetry collections and two novels, Early Leaving and The Slow Way Back , which was a finalist for SIBA's Novel of the Year and winner of the Sir Walter Raleigh Fiction Award and the Mary Ruffin Poole Award for First Fiction. Her memoir, Losing My Sister , was a finalist for both SIBA's Memoir of the Year and ForeWord Review 's Memoir of the Year. Her work has appeared in Real Simple , The Washington Post , and in many literary journals. She teaches writing workshops throughout the Southeast, and serves on the permanent faculty of Table Rock Writers Workshop. Born and raised in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Goldman has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, for many years. She and her husband have two children and four grandchildren.

✦ Subjects

Medical personnel -- Malpractice -- United States