Michelle Wildgen
Author of You're Not You
About the Author
Image credit: photo by Ron Hogan (Flickr)
Works by Michelle Wildgen
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- female
- Places of residence
- Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Stow, Ohio, USA - Education
- University of Wisconsin
Sarah Lawrence College
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 5
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 473
- Popularity
- #52,094
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 23
- ISBNs
- 20
- Languages
- 2
Kate is not an elderly person, but a vibrant 36-year-old former advertising executive now confined to a motorized wheelchair and having to rely on someone to bathe, dress and feed her. Slowly Bec becomes adept at the required tasks and comes to look on Kate as a friend and mentor.
This was at times very difficult to read. I could see Bec identifying more and more with Kate, and Kate relying on Bec as one would a best friend rather than an employed helper. And yet, Kate, kept a certain distance, because only she could, after all, truly experience this debilitating and ultimately terminal condition.
The title comes from an incident where Bec is speaking for Kate, whose speech is garbled at best. Kate, dissatisfied with Bec’s interpretation, informs her that when Bec is “translating” for Kate “You’re not you. You’re me.”
I knew “that scene” was coming and could hardly bear to watch it play out. And yet, there were still fifty pages to read. Fifty short pages for the author to resolve Bec’s grief and her sense of purpose. For her to find the path forward again.
It’s a great debut, and I’d be interested in reading more of her works.… (more)