A Foreword Book of the Year in Autobiography/Memoir

A Publishers Weekly Indie Top 20 selection

A Washington Post Best Book of 2009

As Joe Thorndike loses both both memory and language, his son John moves in to look after him. Joe can no longer tell time or make a phone call, and forgets the names of people he has known for sixty years. He's convinced that the governor of Massachusetts has come to visit and is in the refrigerator. He forgets that his bathroom has a toilet and uses the floor instead.

As father and son are thrown together, their troubles draw them close. The Last of His Mind is a bittersweet account of the year they shared, and a candid portrait of an implacable disease. For anyone facing Alzheimer's in their own family, this book will be a spirited companion.

"A beautiful book, this memoir reveals the painful chaos of Alzheimer's, as well as the unexpected joys that come with caring for a loved one in his last days."--- Publishers Weekly

"A brave, moving story of a son's devotion to his dying father. An affecting work of emotional honesty and forgiveness."—Kirkus Reviews

"A poignant memoir...dreadful and tender."—The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"This book tells a hard story, the relentless decline of a father's memory and self-awareness. John Thorndike writes a beautiful sentence, a beautiful page, and describes his father's last year with piercing clarity, but also great warmth. He opens a world we will all have to face." —Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones

This Revised Edition includes an updated Afterword