I couldn't identify with these perfect people. As a rating I think I would give it a 3. The reworking and retelling, much like with geneologists, would have given him closure and pleasure, since it brought his wife's lineage to life again, in a sense. As a hospice volunteer I could definitely relate to the Alzheimers chapters. The book made me wonder what the author's life has been like, whether he has personal experience with the pain that comes from loving two people, with debilitating diseases like Alzheimers, with the marvel of two friends sharing one soul.
Several reasons come to mind.
This is exactly the same reason I loved this book. I wish the whole book could have focused more on the couple when they where older. My 2 cents. Yes, I would have liked to have seen more focus on their relationship in the later years, too, Angie. That part was the most enjoyable of all.