“Winning [and] intelligent. . . . [An] impressive, often heartening addition to the literature of aging.” — Heller McAlpin, Wall Street Journal In this “unique blend of memoir and literary commentary” (Bookpage), acclaimed author and literary scholar Susan Gubar contemplates the beauty and strength of enduring love—both for her husband and for the literature that has shaped her life. Throughout the complications of devoted caregiving, her own ongoing cancer treatments, and a stressful move to a more manageable apartment, Gubar proves that love and desire have no expiration date—on the page or in life. Late-Life Love offers a resounding retort to ageist stereotypes, appraises the obstacles unique to senior couples, and celebrates second chances.

Contains interviews with more than twenty older couples about their partnerships and late-life romances.

From the New York Times columnist, a portrait of a family and the cycles of joy and grief that mark the natural world: “Has the makings of an American classic.” —Ann Patchett Growing up in Alabama, Margaret Renkl was a devoted reader, an explorer of riverbeds and red-dirt roads, and a fiercely loved daughter. Here, in brief essays, she traces a tender and honest portrait of her complicated parents—her exuberant, creative mother; her steady, supportive father—and of the bittersweet moments that accompany a child’s transition to caregiver. And here, braided into the overall narrative, Renkl offers observations on the world surrounding her suburban Nashville home. Ringing with rapture and heartache, these essays convey the dignity of bluebirds and rat snakes, monarch butterflies and native bees. As these two threads haunt and harmonize with each other, Renkl suggests that there is astonishment to be found in common things: in what seems ordinary, in what we all share. For in both worlds—the natural one and our own—“the shadow side of love is always loss, and grief is only love’s own twin.” Gorgeously illustrated by the author’s brother, Billy Renkl, Late Migrations is an assured and memorable debut. “Magnificent . . . Readers will savor each page and the many gems of wisdom they contain.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A powerful memoir of a love that leads two people to find a courageous way to part—and a woman’s struggle to go forward in the face of loss—that “enriches the reader’s life with urgency and gratitude” (The Washington Post) “A pleasure to read . . . Rarely has a memoir about death been so full of life. . . . Bloom has a talent for mixing the prosaic and profound, the slapstick and the serious.”—USA Today ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR Amy Bloom began to notice changes in her husband, Brian: He retired early from a new job he loved; he withdrew from close friendships; he talked mostly about the past. Suddenly, it seemed there was a glass wall between them, and their long walks and talks stopped. Their world was altered forever when an MRI confirmed what they could no longer ignore: Brian had Alzheimer’s disease. Forced to confront the truth of the diagnosis and its impact on the future he had envisioned, Brian was determined to die on his feet, not live on his knees. Supporting each other in their last journey together, Brian and Amy made the unimaginably difficult and painful decision to go to Dignitas, an organization based in Switzerland that empowers a person to end their own life with dignity and peace. In this heartbreaking and surprising memoir, Bloom sheds light on a part of life we so often shy away from discussing—its ending. Written in Bloom’s captivating, insightful voice and with her trademark wit and candor, In Love is an unforgettable portrait of a beautiful marriage, and a boundary-defying love.

In her memoir, Francoeur discloses her discovery of a new love after nearly two decades in a relationship that won't end, despite her desire to move on. Francoeur succumbs to the intensely physical and stimulating relationship she finds with this new man and shares intimate details of a love affair that changes everything.

On Susan Gubar's seventieth birthday, she receives a beautiful ring from her husband. Contemplating their sustaining relationship, she considers how older lovers differ from their youthful counterparts ― and from ageist stereotypes. As her husband confronts age-related disabilities that effectively ground them, Susan dawdles over the logistics of moving to a more manageable place and starts seeking out literature on the changing seasons of desire. On the page and in life, she realizes that age cannot wither love. A memoir proving that the heart's passions have no expiration date, Late-Life Love rejoices in second chances.

Love in the Late Edition is a story about a man who retires with his wife to an idyllic retirement community in California but is very soon left tragically alone. Alistair Brown is originally from Australia but has spent decades working in America, once as the editor of the local newspaper nearby, which is why he and his wife have come back to beautiful Carmelito to retire. Now, suddenly blindsided by fate, Alistair knows he must somehow find a new purpose in his life, which at first he struggles to do, often comically. Written in the style of an autobiography, Alistair's story is both funny and sad. It is full of compelling characters and memorable incidents in a world unto itself with its own attitudes and customs, a world that becomes threatened and in need of saving. Alistair, who finds fulfilment by using his old journalistic talents as editor of the community's newsletter, is able to help sound the alarm. Then something else surprising and good happens, when he least expects it. Love in the Late Edition is part love story, part homage to the newspaper business, part ode to friendship. But, most of all, it is an affirmation that while there is life there is hope, and that even in the evening of our lives we can find happiness with a fresh reason for living.