Requiem for My Brother

In 1992, Marian Botsford Fraser’s brother Dave was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Eight years later, as he struggled with increasing disability, he discovered that he had melanoma, which quickly metastasized. In this poignant memoir, Botsford Fraser describes her brother’s illness and death, their deepening relationship after years spent apart, her role as his caregiver in the final months of his life, and, finally, the curious mix of sorrow and soaring she felt in the hour of his death. In vivid detail, she recounts how, as adults, they forged an enduring bond when they took a canoe trip along the Coppermine River, battling numbness of mind and muscle and surviving a plunge through the rapids in a rock-filled gorge. Most of all, she remembers Dave — his pain and frustration, his passivity and pride, and his sudden lightness and humor. This book is her tribute to him.