Never Stop Dancing: A Memoir by John Robinette and Robert Jacoby REVIEW

A story of grief, male friendship, and healing conversations.


The 411:

As the daughter of a grieving father I was interested in reading this book. I was 12 when my mom died and dad grieve hard and sometimes appears to still be grieving. It was scary and so difficult to think about what he was going through after my mom passed away. This book gives me a glimpse into all that was going on in his head during those first few years. 

This book is sad yet hopeful. I physically hurt as John was so candid in his recount of his first days and months without Amy. All the firsts that he and his boys had to experience without her literally brought me to tears a few times.

While reading I would take a few breaks to just sit back and think how amazing it was that Robert's idea to record sessions with John allowed him a to really sit in the moment. To really feel how this devastating loss was affecting him and his boys. Their friendship was so important to the story. Would John have been able to be so candid if he didn't know Robert. I don't know but I believe the trust allowed him to heal. Loss is never easy. Talking about someone we love and lost hurts. Robert gave John the ability to be his own therapist. Hearing yourself say things is sometimes the best medicine. 

Talking to a friend and hearing myself say things to someone else that is bothering me or hurting me is when I can really work through something.  I believe everyone's grief is personal and private. No one but you can actually know how you handle it. It is your path and your path alone but having someone to talk to and in this case John having Robert and this book is the perfect dedication to his marriage, his wife and the perfect legacy for his boys. My father had started writing something when my mom passed. I was so excited to read it. Losing my mom was the hardest thing I ever had to go through. I really wanted to know about her, them, and how he felt about losing her. He never finished and doesn't know where the pages he did write are. I so wish he had. John's sons are so lucky to have this and I wish him all the best.