This marvelous book is the tale of getting old in America, with a tale about the circus in between. I have a mother in assisted living so those chapters resonated with me. I see the other residents as they shuffle their tired old bodies from their room to the dining room to the couch and back to their rooms. The story of Jacob in his later years, tells the story of so many people in their later years. We are an aging society. We are facing tough choices as we take care of our parents or we ourselves face living in a facility like the one Jacob found himself in. The sad and tragic day when his own kids forgot to come take him to the circus is what so many elderly must experience each and every day. Ms. Gruen was able to capture the story of circuses during the depression. But for me, she touched my heat and soul with the story of older Jacob.