And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer: A Novella Audio CD – Unabridged, November 1, 2016

I beg of you. Please, please read this novella. It's amazing.First, I think I'm just going to come out and say it because I'm ready to commit. Fredrik Backman has become my favorite author. It's taking a great deal of restraint not to devour everything he has ever written in one fell swoop. Delayed gratification has never been my thing. I picked this one on a whim because I needed a quick diversion from some heavier reading materials. I had no idea what I was in for.I listened to the audiobook, and it was excellent. I loved the narrator. It was short - only about an hour long. When it ended, I sat in my car for about ten minutes trying to catch my breath and stop the tears from spilling out of my eyes. It's hard to describe what this story actually is. It's not really a story per se; it's more of a lengthy description of that place between life and death, and of an elderly man struggling to hold onto his memories. It's sort of a lengthy inner monologue. Backman said it best in his introduction - he's the kind of person who needs to get all of his thoughts on paper in order to make sense of them. Apparently, he never intended to publish this, but here we are.If I get too wordy here, my review will be longer than the novella itself. Normally I'd list my favorite quotes, but there are too many to keep track of. Truly, this story affected me so profoundly that as soon as I finished the audiobook, I bought a hard copy just so I can hold it in my hands and reread it every so often. I think this book struck a chord with me because it's about the struggle to hold on when it’s time to let go. As a parent, I constantly worry that I'm not paying close enough attention. Blink, and they're crawling. Blink, and they're walking. Blink, and they're going away to college and leaving you with an empty nest and an empty heart.Every year on their birthdays, I write each of my children a letter in a plain black journal. I plan to give it to them when they're older - maybe when they go to college, maybe when they have kids of their own. It was a tradition I started when I realized that there are so many tiny, seemingly insignificant moments in their lives that I will never be able to hold onto. But each moment is so perfect that I never want to forget. I want to remember how my son was so chubby that it looked like he constantly wore rubber bands around his wrists. I want to remember how my daughter, at six months old, had the laugh of an 80 year old pack-a-day smoker. There are a thousand little moments every day, and I can’t keep them all, no matter how hard I try. This short but powerful story is about the heartbreaking reality that at some point, we have to let go of the memories, the regrets, the traditions, and ultimately each other. It’s powerful and beautifully written.Just read it. Please. It's perfect.

Love this short little book. It's heart warming and a great reminder of the value of the people in our lives and the moments we get with them. The minute I finished it, I bought two copies so I could always have one on hand to gift because I think it is that special for just about anyone.

And Everyday the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer’ is a novella about the love one man has for his son, grandson, and wife. The man is slowly slipping into a state of memory loss. His greatest fear is that he will soon not remember any of his most beloved memories.In a letter to the reader at the beginning of the story, Backman states,’This is a story about memories and letting go. It’s a love letter and a slow farewell between a man and his grandson, and between a dad and his boy.’ He also explains that writing this story was a type of therapy for him as he too has experience with a loved one with memory loss.As I began to read this story, I soon realized that this is both a similar and different type of story to Backman’s other works. It is similar in that it portrays an older person and their relationships. It is different in that the story line is not as straight forward as other Backman’s works.The story is told through the perspective of the grandfather who is sinking deeper into dementia. It switches between the grandfather speaking with his grandson, Noah, his son,Ted, and his wife who had previously passed away. His thought process is scattered but at the same time deeply symbolic. He likens his brain to a park square that gets smaller and smaller each day and the ‘way home’ is his process to remember details of his life each morning. He then explains that the objects in the park symbolize different memories.Although this was less of an easy read then I found Backman’s other books, to be, this book is just as amazing. It gives an honest look at how hard and complicated it must be to lose someone you love before they actually die. Backman does a wonderful job of panting a picture of someones mind as they are mentally slipping away.Another amazing read from Backman and a quick read as it’s only ninety-six pages. Backman has an amazing gift for writing characters that I makes me feel that I know them personally. This is one of those books that is a must read for all.

Quickly became one of my favorite authors. I love his style of writing, and this short story is no different. What a touching story with such a wonderful plot.

This is a farewell story. It’s a way to capture in words the grief in life and death. Mourning in life for the loss of the memory, mourning in death for the loss of loved ones. Backman, in this poignant novel, gives us lessons about elderly, life’s limitations and love. Losing the mind before the body ends is the central theme of this short tale that involves a grandfather, his grandson, Noah, and his son, Ted. I’m not sure if they are in a hospital room because the confused and lucid moments of the grandpa’s sense are so well written that they also baffle the reader’s mind and make them experience the difficulties of a mind on the verge of forgetting itself. The grandpa tries to explain to his grandson how the memories are leaving him and how it takes a long time before he realizes it. “It’s like a fading star, which takes a long time for us to realize, as long as it takes for the last of its light to reach Earth.” When the grandpa says “ first you lose the small things, then the big ones. It starts with keys and ends with people.” My mind flew to the Elizabeth Bishop’s masterpiece “One art”, about the art of losing, although her aim was not the mind disease.Noah learns to say goodbye to a person who has gone but who is still alive. This is really touching. This sad and sweet story is recommended to anyone.

Super short but cute story.

Chegou rápido, em perfeitas condições. Gosto bastante da história tb

This less-than-100-page book had absolutely no business making me cry the entire way through! 😭 This novella is so devastating yet so beautiful, it is so incredibly well done whilst being sensitive to the topic. I really enjoyed the short time I had with these characters, they were well developed and I felt so connected with them all individually and together as a family. I am looking forward to reading more from Frederik Backman in the near future and would highly recommend this novella, but read content warnings first please.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5

This book is so beautiful and in the simplest way. If you want your heart to melt in a puddle, this book is for you. It makes me cry everytime with just how beautiful it is. It's a story of a man and it takes place in his mind. He's slowly losing his memory. His grandson, Noah is sitting with him in his mind and it's a conversation between those two and instances of their lives. This description doesn't do justice to the book so please please just read this short gem of a book.