Tom Sauer's 2 Weeks In The Desert With Dad is a memoir about his two weeks of caring for his 84-year-old dad, Jerry, and Jerry’s girlfriend, Nancy, at their winter home in Sun City, Arizona. The author looks at family relationships, differences between generations, and the everyday challenges that come with getting older. Tom reminisces about his dad’s frugality, health problems, and household issues like old wiring, car troubles, and sudden medical problems. He also talks about how his father’s childhood experiences during the Depression influenced him (Jerry). This also affected Tom’s own life and parenting. The memoir shows the stress and frustration that come with taking care of a loved one, especially if that person is much older. Through personal stories and reflections, the author talks about aging, loneliness, and family in a way that feels genuine.

Reading 2 Weeks In The Desert With Dad made me think deeply about how hard it can be to care for aging parents. I appreciated that Tom Sauer writes candidly about both the hard moments and the small wins. It shows how struggles and kindness can exist in a person at the same time. The book also made me think about how habits from older generations can shape families for years. I also enjoyed the practical moments, like dealing with health scares or fixing things around the house, because they showed what daily elder care can really be like. The memoir also reveals that understanding and empathy are possible even when relationships are complicated. In the end, it made me think about how much patience, planning, and self-reflection it takes to care for someone, while also learning about yourself along the way.

In his memoir, 2 Weeks in the Desert with Dad, Tom Sauer describes traveling with his father to Arizona to help him manage daily life while dealing with the effects of cancer treatments and recent lung surgery. After arriving at the long-unused Sun City house, he spent much of the trip repairing the property and keeping an old car serviceable so transportation to stores and medical visits was possible. During this period, he also supported Nancy, a friend of his father's, who underwent treatment for gallbladder and bile duct problems. His father’s resistance to outside assistance proved difficult with relatives, medical staff, and group home workers. While reminiscing on his life growing up, Sauer was concurrently faced with his father’s decline and the practical matters that followed his father’s death.

Tom Sauer's 2 Weeks in the Desert with Dad is a warm, observant, and supremely witty look at the sunset of a parent's life, full of stubbornness and an unquiet mind, related by a son who never stopped tending to his father. Sauer is an intelligent writer and leans into the experiences, and I think a lot of readers will be able to relate to being accused by their loved one of putting them in a “prison” when group care is desperately needed. I actually found the challenge of existing legal arrangements to manage Nancy’s affairs to be the most interesting, especially when considering whether or not the ones in charge are acting in her best interests. Sauer’s closing portrait of family members gathering to honor long-held wishes offers a grounded and affectionate finish to a life, and a memoir, worth reading about and celebrating. Recommended.