Polar Vortex: A Family Memoir

Her middle-aged life exported largely to England, Dorrance maintains a warm if increasingly tiresome phone relationship with her 91-year-old widowed mother in Cedar Rapids, IA. Then she’s contacted by a local aging support service: her mom’s in the hospital after a fall and shows signs of dementia. Dorrance must fly back to sort it out. She finds herself traveling this well-worn path during an icy Midwest winter, with Death for company. Appearing as the classic scythe-toting specter, that timeless worthy adversary offers insights, bromides, and grim humor while Dorrance contemplates her past relationship with her mom, complicated by quarrels with her California-based sister. Although resisting her new role at first, she finally takes charge. This is a pitch-perfect piece of work—frank and self-critical narration, incorporating photos and postcards, dread-drenched pacing, and beautifully limpid blue-gray/russet art. Engaging sequences include an imaginary Dr. Ruth providing advice and outlining her mom’s options envisioned as a Let’s Make a Deal game show.