Feathered Quill Book Reviews

 #Bookreview of Rosemary, Now and Then

By: Christina Larson

Publisher: Indigo River Publishing

Publication Date: January 7, 2025

ISBN: 978-1-9-6468619-6

Reviewed by: Diane Lunsford

Review Date: September 16, 2025

Rosemary, Now and Then by Christina Larson is a beautifully woven tale of a life’s journey that begins with lucidity, as much as it touches on the reality of decline dementia is so adept at delivering.

Christina Larson is the primary caregiver for her mother and why not chronicle how this ‘middle child’ arrived at that point in her life to be faced with navigating the uncharted waters of dementia her mother traveled. Rosemary, Now and Then is a well-thought-out story that Ms. Larson has penned with the obvious intention of sharing her experience. She witnessed her mother gradually step through her personal ‘looking glass’ of recognition and cognizant behavior and into the wonder and abyss of a place where distant memories are prevalent and current affairs are quite foreign.

Ms. Larson does an epic job of penning the roller coaster rides of ups and downs, ranging from facing the truth that her mother no longer has the capacity for long-term memory, yet in the next breath, she overrides her declining health with a demeanor to embrace life and its many moments. Rosemary has conversations with the afterlife. She’s had multiple (and debilitating) strokes that rob her of livelihood more and more with each one she experiences. Through the entire process, Rosemary embraces her dementia and defiantly projects a spirit that is incredibly giddy and positive. This is at the crux of Ms. Larson’s entire memoir: is dementia truly the mental disorder it has been touted by the medical profession for decades? Or is dementia a condition, if truly studied beyond the ‘tell-tale’ signs, a matter that is perhaps more baffling and perplexing and even more so, a ‘gift’ when one is on his/her last leg of the journey of life as we know it?

Ms. Larson deserves huge props for having the courage to expose herself to the world of struggles (as much as joy) she experienced while caring for her mother in her final years. She breaks down her accounts in see-saw fashion of this is ‘now’; that was ‘then’ in chapter upon chapter. There is a wonderful conversation quality to Larson’s work, and I applaud her for knowing her audience and speaking to them with vibrant description and first-hand experience (versus ‘telling’). There are many facets to her writing ability, and I thoroughly enjoyed her command of her pen in guiding it throughout what had to have been a ‘labor of love’ to write at times. Bravo Ms. Larson! Well done.

Quill says: Rosemary, Now and Then is a memoir that was written with great care and intention. It chronicles a tremendous journey that ends with a share of ‘what would Rosemary do’… she would share her signature cinnamon bun recipe for readers to share with their loved ones.

For more information about Rosemary, Now and Then, please visit the author's website at: linktr.ee/christinalarson