This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
In his memoir With You in the Moment, Marcus Batterbury documents his mother Renee’s life from childhood through adulthood, sharing details of her marriage and raising children, which include his own memories as well. He talks about her travels, hospital visits, and both of their work with medical staff during periods of illness and treatment, as well as practical strategies used to support her orientation and daily functioning, from visual cues to structured routines. The author speaks on adjustments during holidays and relocation, and incidents involving mobility, memory, and health, which he recorded in chronological order to show the progression of her condition. There are bursts of light in moments where he and his mother are able to simply enjoy peace in the moment, until the time comes to say the final farewell.
“I love this – there is no illness here, no need for short-term memory, no threats, no worries; just us, the space we occupy in the natural world around us.” With You in the Moment by Marcus Batterbury is a moving memoir that is well written and wonderfully compassionate in how he addresses incorrect assumptions about life with dementia. One incredible moment for me is when the author shares a conversation with a dismissive colleague who implied that someone with dementia doesn't really know who they are or is not missing anything anyway. Issues like this are proven wrong as the author shares intimate episodes, creating a calming recognition for his mother through shared stories, photographs, and even observing nature. Batterbury invites us to rethink what it means to live intentionally, and to respect identity and presence, offering understanding and hope to those who are happy to be with the ones we love in the moment.
