In Love

A Memoir of Love and Loss

By: Amy Bloom

Narrated by: Amy Bloom

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

AN OPRAH DAILY BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE PAST TWO DECADES

ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Publishers Weekly
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, Time, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, USA Today, Real Simple, Prospect (UK), She Reads, Kirkus Reviews

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.

Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize

©2022 Amy Bloom (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Bloom has a talent for mixing the prosaic and profound, the slapstick and the serious, which makes the book, despite its depressing subject matter, a pleasure to read. Rarely has a memoir about death been so full of life.”—USA Today

“As with all great books about dying, In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss does not terrorize with grim statistics and forewarnings but rather destigmatizes euthanasia and enriches the reader’s life with urgency and gratitude. It renews those joys of being ‘In Love’ with the people around us—despite the numbing effects of routine and familiarity which so often cause happiness to lapse in middle age.”—The Washington Post

“I’m not sure why I hadn’t until now read Bloom’s fiction. . . . Not reading her: my loss. Bloom has one of those warm, wised-up, tolerantly misanthropic New York voices, in the manner of Laurie Colwin and Sloane Crosley and Allegra Goodman and Nora Ephron, and an ability to deepen her tone at will.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times

Immensely inspiring and moving

Thank you Amy Bloom for sharing your journey of love and loss. I commend you and Brian for choosing to openly share Brian’s choices, along with your ability to support him in his decision to eliminate the long goodbye. I appreciate you being able to clearly communicate the challenges you and Brian both went through during this time together. I’m 100% certain, Brian is very proud that you were able to share his story with the world.

In love with Amy

Can not remember a story and a voice that made me laugh and cry through the whole thing.

absolutely beautiful

absolutely beautiful, painful, and real. tragic and heartbreaking story of love, loss, and dying with dignity.

Leaving the Planet in a Better Place...

Amy Bloom's new memoir, IN LOVE, is a beautiful tribute to her late husband, Brian, and to herself. The start of their love affair is captured in delicious snapshots - their quirky romance of opposites, the way they lead their lives as friends and lovers and shopping explorers on this expedition called LIFE.

Amy has a matter-of-fact delivery - a bit like Ruth Reichel who narrates her book, "Save Me the Plums" - and Delia Ephron' who also narrates her love and heartbreak memoir, "Left on Tenth - a Second Chance at Love." All of these women share stories of love and loss that are relatable, funny, tender, and uplifting - even when they are delivering heartfelt news. They are smart, liberal, Jewish, New York writers whose way of viewing the world is like great comfort food - a smorgasbord of words to nosh on that leaves you both satisfied and hungry for more.

I am grateful to know of Dignitas in Zurich, Switzerland - "a place you can go to die if you are an American, of sound mind, or are not terminally ill with six months or less to live to get an accompanied suicide." Amy's husband Brian had early-onset Alzheimer's and did not want to live out years of suffering when he knew there was a more humane way to deal with his impending death. To be there to witness the end of a life you loved can feel brave – yet also, isolating and lonely. But such a Gift! When you are able to share a painful and poignant experience about losing someone you loved so fiercely, it helps spread awareness that there are many ways to support those we love – when an end-of-life choice becomes one of extreme self-care. My late husband wanted to exit his life due to an illness which would not get better - and had we known about Dignitas, we might have been able to get him the relief that he so desperately wanted.

Another Winner From Amy Bloom

An incredibly moving story, about a couple facing a difficult medical choice together. Beautifully told.