Recent Reviews of The Music Between Us
"[Steve Litwer's] book, The Music Between Us: Memoir of a Bedside Musician isn't just about the music he plays for dying patients, though. It's a story of growing up with a mother who had severe mental illness and a father who was incapable of protecting his children from the ensuing neglect and abuse. It's a story about music, memory, healing, and intimacy - against all odds.
A non-practicing Jew, Litwer discovers Christianity almost by accident. He describes visiting a dying nun in a religious order, the Sisters of Charity. In the course of their gentle spiritual teachings, the elderly nuns invite Litwer to answer the call to accept divine love. Litwer answers, "Yes, I accept. I surrender. Please take me." This passage left me wondering if our challenge as caregivers is similar: to embrace love, abandon judgment of ourselves, and simply accept what we cannot control."
Read the full review here.
Author of The Unexpected Journey of Caring: The Transformation of Loved one to Caregiver
"There’s no dearth of books, articles and blog posts or films, documentaries and videos about elderhood, serious illness and end-of-life issues, but I’d never come across any from the perspective I know so well: that of another hospice volunteer. So I was eager to read Steve Litwer’s new book, The Music Between Us: Memoir of a Bedside Musician.
His matter-of-fact style in relating his own shortcomings seems to expect neither excessive sympathy nor absolution from the reader. Each chapter starts with a vivid written sketch of an individual he has played guitar for and like a jazz riff, moves on from there to relate to relevant pieces of his own evolution."
Read the full review, along with an interview with Steve here.
Author of Last Comforts: Notes from the Forefront of Late Life Care
Steve Litwer's book, The Music Between Us: Memoir of a Bedside Musician is available from all online major booksellers.