Thanks to @aaknopf for sending me The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka. I thought this book was so lovely and moving. It’s divided into three sections. The first and longest section uses a first-person plural perspective, which I always really like. It follows a group of swimmers who have made a second home of an underground swimming pool. When a mysterious crack appears in their beloved pool, it threatens their routines in and the swimmers deal with it in different ways. One of the swimmers, Alice, is suffering from dementia. The second part of the book switches to focus on Alice after she is no longer going to the pool. Part of it is written from a second-person perspective, which makes it a particularly heart-wrenching portrait of someone slowly losing track of their memories. My own grandpa was in a memory care facility similar to the one described in this section, so I found it especially emotional and moving. The third section is also written in the second-person perspective, but switches to focus on Alice’s daughter.

This book has truly exceptional writing, is beautifully poignant, and is one that is bound to stick with me for a very long time. The first section describes quaint characters with compassion and humor, and the rest of the book tenderly and carefully speaks to the experience of a family living with a dementia diagnosis.

I very highly recommend this book. If you have ever watched someone you love go through memory loss, I think you will find it especially impactful.