Reviews
From Literary Titan, October 15, 2025.
“Conversations with My Mother tells the tender and heartbreaking story of a son watching his mother fade into dementia. Set on the coast of Maine, the book unfolds through small, vivid vignettes that capture the everyday beauty and sorrow of a family coping with loss long before death arrives. Through these fragments, each like a brief conversation or memory, the narrator shows his mother’s slow descent into confusion and fragility, while also revealing flashes of her wit, compassion, and stubborn humor. It’s as much about remembering as it is about forgetting, about holding on when life insists on letting go. The setting, with its shifting skies and sea winds, mirrors the mother’s mind, sometimes calm and lucid, sometimes clouded and unpredictable.
“Reading this book felt like sitting in a quiet room, listening to two people who love each other deeply but know time is running out. The writing is simple yet piercing, with a kind of understated poetry that sneaks up on you. I found myself laughing at the mother’s dry remarks one moment and then, without warning, feeling my throat tighten the next. Gilbert doesn’t dramatize dementia; instead, he honors it with honesty. The story never begs for pity. It just shows life as it is, messy, unfair, beautiful. I admired how the author used humor to cut through the sadness. It’s the kind of humor that comes from people who’ve lived long enough to know that grief and laughter are two sides of the same coin.
“What struck me most was the way Gilbert made the ordinary feel sacred. A drive to a hair salon, a walk to the beach, a chat about blueberries, these moments hold whole worlds of memory and meaning. The mother’s voice lingers long after you finish, a mix of sharp wit, old-world grace, and quiet resignation. There were times I wanted to reach into the page and hold her hand. The author’s restraint, his refusal to sugarcoat or sensationalize, gives the book its power. It’s a love letter wrapped in loss.
“I’d recommend Conversations with My Mother to anyone who has cared for an aging parent or watched a loved one slip away piece by piece. It’s not a light read, but it’s a comforting one, full of truth and tenderness. This book is for readers who value quiet stories that move slowly and hit hard. It left me sad but grateful, reflective but strangely uplifted. Gilbert reminds us that even as memory fades, love stays, steady, stubborn, and shining through the fog.”
For original, visit https://literarytitan.com/2025/10/30/conversations-with-my-mother-a-novel-of-dementia-on-the-maine-coast/
From BookLife, by Publisher’s Weekly, May 2023
“This fictionalized account of the relationship between mother and son as the parent slowly succumbs to dementia is a deeply insightful and engaging work. It is thoughtful, touching, and entirely authentic. The author is a skilled and talented writer whose prose evokes breathtaking emotion in the reader. A truly unique novel from the first page to the last.”
For original, visit https://booklife.com/project/conversations-with-my-mother-a-novel-of-dementia-on-the-maine-coast-85285/
From OneTribune, December 2025.
“There are books that speak through plot and books that speak through silence. Conversations with My Mother chooses silence. Not the absence of words, but the spaces between them—the half-finished thoughts, the repeated phrases, the musical pauses that fill real conversations between parents and adult children. Ronald-Stéphane Gilbert transforms those pauses into prose, building a story that is both deeply specific and strangely universal.
“The novel unfolds along Maine’s coast, where the beauty of a place slowly giving way to commercial development mirrors the fading of the human mind. Gilbert’s unnamed narrator, a traveling businessman, returns home to help care for his mother, a once-proud Francophone matriarch whose sense of self is slipping. Alongside his pragmatic sister, he navigates not only the logistics of eldercare but also the moral terrain of memory itself—how much of a person remains when recollection dissolves.
“What distinguishes this book is its structure. Rather than a continuous narrative, Gilbert offers vignettes—each conversation a snapshot, a pulse, a fragment of what it means to love someone you can no longer reason with. The form mimics dementia itself: moments flare brightly, then vanish. Readers piece the story together just as the family pieces together their mother’s identity from what she still recalls.
“Science tells us that memory is not a recording but a reconstruction—an act of storytelling by the brain. Gilbert’s approach feels built on that same principle. Each short episode reconstructs love through disarray. In one moment, humor surfaces in a misplaced word; in another, grief hides in a casual remark about dinner. The prose feels lived-in, stripped of ornament, yet every line carries the quiet pulse of authenticity.
“What makes the book powerful is not its tragedy, but its restraint. Gilbert resists the temptation to turn dementia into spectacle or metaphor. Instead, he presents it as part of the landscape—something to be navigated, not defeated. Like the eroding coastline around the family’s home, the condition reveals as much as it removes.
“There is a moral current beneath the narrative, though it never preaches. The novel asks whether caring for a parent is a duty, an act of love, or both—and whether the two can ever be separated. It also explores what “inheritance” really means. The land may pass from hand to hand, but what about compassion, humor, decency? Those, Gilbert seems to say, are not lost even to disease.
“This is not a book for readers chasing spectacle or suspense. It is for those who listen for echoes—the ones who linger on old voicemails, who find meaning in half-remembered stories, who know that love sometimes speaks most clearly when language falters.
Conversations with My Mother is a meditation disguised as a novel, a piece of literary tidework that erodes slowly and leaves something shining beneath: the recognition that remembering isn’t the opposite of forgetting—it’s what happens in its shadow.”
For original, visit https://onetribune.one/onetribune-awards/
From BlueInk Review, November 2024
“Author Ronald-Stéphane Gilbert mines his memories to stitch together an empathetic novel inspired by a beloved matriarch’s struggle with dementia.
Told in chronological chapters that alternate between brief scenes and lengthy episodes—and revolving around conversations between its characters—the first-person narrative opens with Rob Allaire and his 89-year-old French-Canadian mom, Yvette, outside a seafood restaurant in Maine, once his deceased father’s favorite dinner spot; today, it’s another painful reminder of Yvette’s mortality and her husband’s death. Rob lives in Ohio with his wife and son; the distance seems even greater now that Yvette struggles with health problems that require Rob’s sister, Diane, to be her live-in caretaker. Motivated by equal parts guilt and deep-rooted love, Rob prioritizes spending more time with Yvette—before Yvette’s sense of self is erased.
“Yvette’s battle with dementia is written as an unpredictable, taxing journey that slowly begins to fuse past and present, challenging her children’s ideas about patience, forgiveness, and familial duty. Her transformation isn’t sudden, which makes her lapses in memory even more frustrating and heartbreaking. As Yvette worsens, she becomes more childlike and fearful, mistaking vivid nightmares and dreams for real events. Throughout, Rob’s perspective emphasizes Yvette’s kind heart, which remains, and Rob tries to be a voice of hope and reason—a sharp contrast to his sister’s responses to the daily stressors triggered by her domestic role.
“Set against the backdrop of New England, this novel is grounded in lived realism. Gilbert doesn’t sugarcoat the reality of cognitive decline caused by dementia. However, some readers may yearn for a literary experience that relies on immersive storytelling rather than the novel’s conversation-heavy structure. By keeping a tight focus on dialogue revolving around Yvette, there’s a missed opportunity to dig deeper into the sibling relationships and build Rob’s characterization.
Still, even those whose parents haven’t suffered medical hardships will find much to contemplate in this emotionally nuanced depiction of a family forced to reckon with unthinkable circumstances.”
For original, visit https://www.blueinkreview.com/book-reviews/conversations-with-my-mother/
From Midwest Book Review and Small Press Bookwatch, February 2025.
“Although an eloquently crafted work of fiction (all the more impressive when considering that it is author Ronald-Stephane Gilbert’s debut as a novelist), “Conversations with My Mother: A Novel of Dementia on the Maine Coast” competently relates a ‘real world’ that is experienced by families with a beloved parent who is struggling with dementia — as are [the parent’s] adult children. An inherently fascinating and emotionally engaging read from start to finish, Conversations with My Mother: A Novel of Dementia on the Maine Coast is an especially and unreservedly recommended pick for community library Contemporary Family Life Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that this paperback edition of “Conversations with My Mother” . . . is also readily available in a digital book format.”
For original, visit https://www.midwestbookreview.com/sbw/feb_25.htm#generalfiction/
From Indie Reader, January 2025.
This tender, graceful novel highlights the devotion of family as the spark of life begins to fade in a beloved mother suffering from dementia. Gilbert skillfully mirrors the autobiographical tale of his mother’s decline with the shifting state of the natural beauty of Maine’s coastline amid relentless development. Though frequently heartbreaking, CONVERSATIONS WITH MY MOTHER ultimately glows with the enduring power of love.
For original, visit https://indiereader.com/book_review/conversations-with-my-mother/
From The Book Commentary, April 17, 2025.
“Through a series of vignettes, Ronald-Stéphane Gilbert captures the mix of humor and heartache accompanying the conversations between the elderly and warm-hearted Francophone grappling with dementia in Conversations with My Mother. At the same time, her quaint town faces real estate development pressures. The novel opens with a nostalgic trip to the breakwater, where Yvette recalls when her husband proposed. This memory delivers the emotional backdrop throughout the narrative, highlighting the contrast between Yvette’s fragmented recollections and her sharp-witted insights, often delivered with a humorous twist, such as when she quips, “I must be at the ‘Stairway to Heaven’” when she forgets her destination.
“Conversations with My Mother explores themes of love, memory, and the vicissitudes of aging. The protagonist, a reflective son and businessman, deals with discussions with his mother, who has dementia yet retains flashes of her vibrant personality and sharp wit. Through dynamic dialogue, we see her as both a dignified matriarch and a vulnerable individual confronting the gradual erosion of her memories. Ronald-Stéphane Gilbert employs rich imagery and detailed interactions to encapsulate the mother’s essence, allowing readers to witness her blend of warmth, humor, and melancholy. Moments like her recognition of the beauty in flowers or her reflections on family history reveal her fighting spirit.
“The characterization is ingenious, and the author draws portraits of characters in a family dynamic where pain intersects with patient acceptance. While Yvette suffers from dementia, she is depicted as a kind-hearted, lovable woman whose sense of humor is instinctive. Throughout the novel, the author emphasizes the delicate balance between the past and present, illustrating how love and connection persist, even as they become fragmented over time. The nuanced and deeply flawed characters will arrest the attention of readers. As Yvette grapples with her fading memories, her identity feels increasingly elusive. Yet, she remains a complex character, holding onto her devout Catholic beliefs and displaying a compassionate worldview.
“Like [Yvette’s] vibrant home, the setting is beautifully rendered, adding depth to the narrative and grounding the emotional currents. The book’s humor offsets its more melancholic moments. The pathos is intense, and it rubs off irresistibly on readers. Ronald-Stéphane Gilbert’s debut cleverly translates the struggle of dementia into an entertaining, authentic, and heartwarming narrative packed with lessons, infused with humanity, and realism. You’ll fall in love with the characters and enjoy the exquisite writing. The stellar storytelling establishes this author as one to take seriously, with the meld of exciting drama and focused scenes.”
For original, visit https://thebookcommentary.com/review-preview/1613/conversations-with-my-mother/