The Tincture of Time

“A delicate weave of cultural analysis, personal history, and religious teachings in a meditation on the limits of science and the boundless capacity of the human heart.”—O, The Oprah Magazine

“Silver brings to this moving personal account a novelist’s pacing, a poet’s lyricism and a researcher’s meticulousness for fact.”
—The Dallas Morning News
 
“The mental trauma resulting from the very real possibility that a beloved baby may die is difficult to articulate. Nonetheless, Silver does so—masterfully—in her book The Tincture of Time. . . . The strength of Tincture is its close attention to detail, which immerses the reader in events as they unfold. . . . Readers don’t have to be parents to relate to this engaging story and thoughtful, thorough consideration of uncertainty within and outside the medical establishment.”
—The Jewish Book Council

“A mother’s uncertainty about her baby daughter’s medical care pervades this unsettling memoir. . . . Readers will share Silver’s unease with uncertainty. This will resonate with anyone who has experienced diagnostic difficulties.”
—Kirkus

“Smartly conceived and well written. . . . An excellent book.”
—Publishers Weekly

“In Elizabeth Silver’s masterful hands, suffering creates poetry. She draws upon MRI scans, Greek mythology, and the history of medicine to tell the story of her infant daughter’s brain bleed, and the resulting meditation on trauma, memory, and time is one of the most riveting stories of illness that I’ve ever read. This is an unforgettable book.”
—Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire
 
“The Tincture of Time delivers two remarkable books for the price of one: an honest, raw, exquisitely written narrative and an astute yet deeply compassionate investigation of the practice of medicine. It’s a book for anyone who’s ever grappled with the inescapable uncertainty of life—that is to say, it’s a book for everyone. Simply put, I was blown away.”
—Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life

“It’s nearly impossible to put The Tincture of Time down. Elizabeth L. Silver’s brilliant memoir burns from page to page, teaching the reader as much about the fragility of life as it does the power of love.”
—Christa Parravani, author of Her

“The Tincture of Time is at once a medical mystery and an affecting meditation on how to live without certainty. Elizabeth L. Silver has written a compelling account of a mother’s worst nightmare with grace, intelligence, and love.”
—Jill Bialosky, author of History of a Suicide

“The Tincture of Time is just the kind of memoir this world desperately needs. In precise and powerful language, Elizabeth Silver uses her deeply singular experience to shed light on universal issues of wellness, health, the body, healing, and trust. She shines her bright, generous intellect into the deepest reaches of her own heart, and into the heart of every reader. This book will change you, teach you, move you. Read it.”
—Emily Rapp, author of The Still Point of the Turning World