RaveThe Washington Post... deeply stirring ... To manage such hefty subject matter, Bloom artfully divides the book into manageable chunks of very short chapters that are titled with either a date and place, or something playful ... any scientific data is limited to that which enhances the reader’s experience of Bloom’s struggle to honor her husband’s wish ... Philosophical questions regarding the self and ethics orbit the largely secular narrative without dominating it. Wisely, Bloom remains in the trenches of daily life, where the juxtaposition of normalcy with what’s happening to her husband maintains emotional torque for the reader, who is never asked to \'wait outside\' — even for the 20 minutes after Brian has drunk the sodium pentobarbital that will end his life ... That said, there are moments of humor ... Bloom’s technical prowess is evident in her conscription of banal details to preface profound and sobering insights into love, marriage and death ... The most powerful scenes occur, understandably, in the closing chapters. The reader knows the end is coming, but when it does, the fact that it still feels like a shock is a testament to Bloom’s clear, lyrical prose about a subject that would cripple many of her peers ... As with all great books about dying, In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss does not terrorize with grim statistics and forewarnings but rather destigmatizes euthanasia and enriches the reader’s life with urgency and gratitude. It renews those joys of being In Love with the people around us — despite the numbing effects of routine and familiarity which so often cause happiness to lapse in middle age.
