Essence Reviews: The Seasons of My Mother by Marcia Gay Harden

No one wants to lose the person they love and admire, no matter the circumstance. Marcia Gay Harden’s memoir, The Seasons of My Mother, moves readers through Ms. Harden’s journey as a daughter, actress, and mother through the lens of her own mother, Beverly’s, diagnosis and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

The memoir’s anchor is the philosophy of ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement as an expression but interspersed throughout are stories of family, grandparents and great-grandparents. I was intrigued by the life and relationship that Ms. Harden has first with her mother, and then the relationship she has with her own children. Ultimately, the story is about holding onto one’s dignity and pride in the midst of declining health and disease. Alzheimer’s disease affects 47 million people worldwide. At the time of the memoir’s publication. Ms. Harden goes through her own struggles and rewards, as her mother Beverly is consistently by her side, celebrating or commiserating every one.

As I read, this memoir felt less about declining health and Alzheimer’s disease--readers see more mention of this towards the end of the book--but more of a tribute to a life and legacy of a powerful, devoted woman who decided to use ikebana to create an identity beyond a Navy officer’s wife. I believe that that is what the deceased, no matter what they die from, want: a celebration of their lives, not one of mourning. To that end, Marcia Gay Harden’s memoir has accomplished its mission.