Knowing Jesse, Marianne Leone
Knowing Jesse, Marianne Leone
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Knowing Jesse
A Mother's Story of Grief, Grace, and Everyday Bliss

Author: Marianne Leone

Narrator: Marianne Leone

Unabridged: 6 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/14/2010


Synopsis

Jesse Cooper was an honor-roll student who loved to windsurf and write poetry. He also had severe cerebral palsy and was quadriplegic, unable to speak, and wracked by seizures. He died suddenly at age seventeen. In fiercely honest, surprisingly funny, and sometimes heartbreaking prose, Jesse's mother, Marianne Leone, chronicles her transformation by the remarkable life and untimely death of her child. An unforgettable memoir of joy, grief, and triumph, Knowing Jesse unlocks the secret of unconditional love and speaks to all families who strive to do right by their children.

About Marianne Leone

Marianne Leone is an actress, screenwriter, and essayist. Her essays have appeared in the Boston Globe, Post Road, Bark, Coastal Living, and WBUR's Cognoscenti blog. Her memoir, Jesse: A Mother's Story, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2010.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brandy

Not only do I cherish this beautiful story, I spent 11 years with jesse and his entire family. He was my teacher of unconditional love,facing fear and embracing myself. I carry part of his life and spirit in my heart, in my soul forever. My love to his family......more

Goodreads review by Jane

Rather than being a pity party, this memoir encourages the exact opposite - that we start seeing disabled people as the human beings they are. As a person with cerebral palsy, I was initially hesitant in picking up this book, wary that it might eventually give way to what I dread - an able-bodied pe......more

Goodreads review by Beth

Recommended by Melissa McEwan at Shakesville. I was interested partially because of my connection with people with serious disabilities, including someone in my family, and partially because I'm a big fan of Jesse's dad, the actor Chris Cooper. And having read this book, I'm now a big admirer of his......more

Goodreads review by Melissa

Marianne Leone's son, Jesse, is born early and has a brain bleed that results in cerebral palsy. She tells her story through stories--little glimpses into her life as the mother of a severely disabled child, the struggles, the lessons, etc. The book is sprinkled with photos and Jesse's poetry, which......more