Making Toast

Roger Rosenblatt’s memoir, Making Toast, tells the story of his daughter’s unexpected death and his family’s courageous efforts to rebuild their lives in its wake. Luminous and utterly unsentimental, Making Toast is both Rosenblatt’s tribute to his daughter Amy, and a brave exploration of the human capacity to move through and beyond grief.

When Amy-a gifted doctor, mother, and wife-collapses and dies from an asymptomatic heart condition at age 38, Roger and his wife, Ginny, leave their home to move in with their son-in-law, doing all they can to carry on, reconstruct a family, and guide three tenderhearted children through the pains and confusions of grief.

As he marvels at the strength of his son-in-law, and the tenacity and skill of his wife, Roger attends each day to “the one household duty I have mastered”-preparing the morning toast perfectly to each child’s liking. This memoir is an evocative, moving testament to the enduring power of a parent’s love and the bonds of family.