“Your mother’s never coming back, Clara.” A six-word sentence. A whole story in six words.

I hate Alzheimer's disease and all forms of dementia that rob us of the essence of who we are - our memories. There have been many people dear to me that have had dementia in one form or another and it's a terrible, terrible heartache.

This story tells of a mother Tamar, 50 years old, with early onset Alzheimer's and her 31 year old daughter Clara, who moves back to the Adirondacks to be near her mother. It is a tale of two strong women, love, friendship, loss, and so much more.

Tamar and Clara were characters that I found hard to get close to at first but persevere because it pays off in the end. The secondary characters are wonderful in the book. And the story of Tamar's quick decline is eloquently and sympathetically written about in this story. It is a sad fictional story but rings too true.

It is one of the better stories I've read about this disease and it's told from Clara's POV. An outstanding book written from the POV of an early onset Alzheimer's disease sufferer is STILL ALIVE by Lisa Genova.

I received this book from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.

I waffled a little on the rating of this book- whether to give it a 3 or a 4. I found Clara's story about living with her mother's early-onset Alzheimer's and watching this once vibrant woman to decline while wrestling with the possibility of carrying the same gene and having the same fate, as well as the unanswered questions she has about her mother's life, to be moving and emotional. Clara's close friendships with Brown and Sunshine were sweet to read, and I have hope for her relationship with Chris. The only downside to this book was that there was JUST SO MUCH GOING ON ALL THE TIME. Clara's heart condition, her writing career, all of the aforementioned issues... if the author's goal was to give readers the same sense of frustration that Clara felt over her unanswered/answered too late questions, mission accomplished. In that sense, my frustration may actually be a compliment to the author- I simply wasn't ready for this one to end and wanted to know more.

The relationship between a mother and daughter is uniquely tenacious but can be fraught with danger when mother grows older and the daughter more independent. Many mother-daughter relationships are a source of the greatest love and support. Girls talk about parents as their best friends in growing up, but just as often some relationships are volatile chemical interactions, ready to blow up when a new layer of life appears and threatens to destroy one or both. Clara Winter is the daughter of Tamra Winter, a single mother who is tough, rough, and singularly protective of Clara. The problem is that Clara and Tamra do not agree on what kind of future Clara should pursue.

The struggle between mother and daughter begins with Clara's choice of college. When Clara's boyfriend breaks up with her, she follows her mother's plan but drifts away from her and their home in the Adirondack mountains of New York. Clara is fortunate that she makes lifelong friends with two people at her college in New Hampshire and they help her navigate life when she urgently needs friends.

After college, Clara makes a life for herself in the Florida panhandle as a reporter and then a writer. When Tamra's best friend, Annabelle, tells Clara that she needs to come back and check on her mother, the story takes off with life-altering choices and facing painful memories. Tamra, at 50 years of age, has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. Tamra's decline is unmistakable, and Clara knows she needs her help, so she goes back to Florida to pack up and move in with Tamra.

At this point, Tamra exercises her self-dependence and makes life-altering changes before Clara can get to Florida and back, in one week. Re-establishing a relationship with a parent after ten years is difficult enough without the muddle of brain plaque impeding conversation, reason, comfort, and affection. Clara is clearly in it for the long run but in the meantime wants to understand why Tamra did things that affected Clara's life so deeply in a hurtful way. She wants to know her mother and love her again as she did when she was a child. Clara's wish may be one all of us have at some point in our life when things are changing quickly, and we know that there is no going back. The future looks bleak, but that is the only direction life is taking us.

Alison McGhee's novel is a lovely collection of thoughts about love for a mother and the love and extreme sacrifices that women make for their daughters. The novel is a beautiful story about the love between a mother and a daughter, even when we think it might just be too late. Don't miss this one. It is one to be savored and treasured.

Thank you, NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Never Coming Back started out to be promising, but then dropped off. I just could not get into this book. The transitions were choppy and confusing. The main character would have conversations with herself in the midst of a paragraph and I did not care for the format.

Having dealt with a family member with Alzheimer's disease I was intrigued by this book. I found it to be difficult to read as anyone dealing with a degenerative disease must address so many emotional issues. I thought the pace was a bit slow but I did enjoy reading this and would recommend it to anyone who may have a loved one with Alzheimer's, particularly meaningful between a mother and daughter.

This was a good read, the style of the book was different than any other I’ve read before. The conversations would change not by chapters, but by paragraphs, you could be reading along on a conversation with Brown and Sunshine, the next paragraph would be a conversation with the bartender, making it sometimes hard to follow. The storyline is about Clara, a writer and musician, 30ish year old daughter, raised by a single mother, whom she never considered nor viewed as an actual person until it was almost too late. The story covers her search of trying to know and find out more about her mother and her idiosyncrasies. At times I felt that Clara was very self-centered, but her love for her best friends shown through and she did care immensely for her mother. At one point the book brought tears to my eyes when she finally understood why her life had taken the turns it had. I would recommend this story. The writing style made you care about all the characters, the descriptions of the places and people, made you envision you were there, all the way down to the big white car and the trailer with the music blaring. I did find it repeated itself multiple times saying the same things over and over every once in a while but it didn’t take away from the story. Other than that, I would highly recommend.

Words are powerful with those left unspoken often the most powerful. This is a tale of Clara Winter and her mother Tamar who has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's that is progressing rapidly. Clara realizes there is much she doesn't know or understand about her mother and their shared past and the clock is ticking.

Never Coming Back is a very emotional book about a daughter who moves back home to take care of her mother who has Alzheimers. This book jumps into the story and does not let up until the end. There were times throughout the book where it felt like the sentences were running together regarding two different subjects. The base line of the story is heart wrenching and yet .helpful in getting people to understand somewhat of what people go through when an Alzheimer patient.

My kids have many of Alison McGhee's fantastic children's books, so truth be told, I was a fan of hers before diving into Never Coming Back. This powerful novel was my first read from Alison McGhee's adult fiction genre and boy did it pack an emotional punch.

Never Coming Back centers around Clara Winter's who is the only child of her single mother, Tamar. After Clara notice a couple red flags, Tamar is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Being that Tamar is in her early fifties, Alzheimer's isn't something Clara thought she would have to deal with as a daughter so soon. Trying to manage her mother's care, Clara uproots herself and moves closer to Tamar's memory care facility. There are many unanswered questions from her childhood/teen years that Clara desperately wants answers to, but her mother's memory is spotty at best and the likelihood of actual answers is very uncertain. With the help of amazing best friends, Clara tries to find a new normal and true closure!!

Being that I have someone I'm close to currently suffering from Alzheimer's, I was a little weary of the subject matter because I thought it may touch too close to home, but I'm SO glad I read Never Coming Back!! I thought Clara's experiences were very realistic and spot on! I definitely needed a tissue or two and thought Alison McGhee did a fantastic job with storyline-- so moving!! Never Coming Back is a 5 star read that everyone should read! I am looking forward to reading more from Alison McGhee in the future!

I couldn't put this book down. It is a fascinating read about Clara returning to her small rural Adirondack Mountain home to care for her mother, Tamar , diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. They women aren't close, Tamar sent Clara away to college and had a hand in her boyfriend Asa breaking up with her before joining the military. Clara decides to accept life for what it is and tries to get answers to some questions before her mother forgets everything. This is a heart warming story that really gives insight to family's facing this degenerate disease. When you begin reading you think the title refers to Clara never coming home but it really refers to her mother's downward spiral into forgetfulness and not returning to today. A winner for young and old.

So so read, I am not usually into mysteries. : It kept my interest for a while then I skimmed the last few chapters to finish it. Would not recommend.

I devoured this book. It's one you carry around with you and pick up at every spare moment. Just be careful that you're somewhere where you won't be embarrassed if you suddenly start crying, as I did many times throughout. What a beautifully told, bittersweet tale. Highly recommend.

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