Damage control

"When Sergei, a psychotherapist, discovers that his mother is terminally ill, he decides to leave his practice and his life in Paris to be by her side. In the process of adopting a baby himself, he does not want her to die thinking that one of her children hates her, and he hopes to understand this complicated woman and achieve reconciliation before it is too late. Alternating between Dollsie's last months as she battles pancreatic cancer, and poignant, often hilarious (and at times shocking) scenes from Sergei's childhood, "Damage Control" is a tale of outlandish excess; of wildly glamorous and entitled lives lived above the fray - and in deep denial. From the mountain village of Gstaad, Switzerland, to New York, Miami and Cuba, the memoir explores the emotional and geographical landscapes of a mother and son whose lives are revealed to be poignant parallels. After avoiding her for a lifetime, seeking shelter from her rage and narcissism, Sergei comes face-to-face with Dollsie as she confronts mortality. Through his own experiences as a gay man journeying through the joys and perils of his generation, coming out in the early eighties in the deathly shadow of HIV and AIDS, and his years as an activist and therapist in the field, Sergei helps his mother come to terms with her guilt, her regrets and her fear of dying. "Damage Control" is ultimately a rendering of the cycle of life; saying goodbye to a parent so you can say hello to a child, and finding grace and forgiveness through a mother's love."--Back cover.