Making Toast

From O Magazine to the New York Times, from authors such as E.L. Doctorow to Ann Beattie, critics and writers across the country have hailed Roger Rosenblatt's MAKING TOAST as an evocative, moving testament to the enduring power of a parent's love and the bonds of family.
When Roger's daughter, Amy -- a gifted doctor, mother, and wife -- collapses and dies from an asymptomatic heart condition at age 38, Roger and his wife, Ginny, leave their home on the South Shore of Long Island to move in with their son-in-law, Harris, and their three young grandchildren: six-year-old Jessica, four-year-old Sammy, and one-year old James, known as Bubbies.
Long past the years of diapers, homework, and recitals, Roger and Ginny -- Boppo and Mimi to the kids -- quickly re-accustom themselves to the world of small children: bedtime stories, talking toys, play-dates, nonstop questions, and nonsequential thought. Though reeling from Amy's death they carry on, reconstructing a family, sustaining one another, and guiding three lively, alert, and tenderhearted children through the pains and confusions of grief. As he marvels at the strength of his son-in-law, a surgeon, and the tenacity and skill of his wife, a former kindergarten teacher, Roger attends each day to "the one household duty I have mastered" -- preparing the morning toast perfectly to each child's liking.
Luminous, precise, and utterly unsentimental, MAKING TOAST is both a tribute to the singular Amy, and a brave exploration of the human capacity to move through and beyond grief.