The Last Act of Love by Cathy Rentzenbrink review – uplifting memoir

Matty lay in a coma for nearly a decade as his sister, Cathy Rentzenbrink, grew up. Her story is a life-affirming act of love

The Last Act of Love is a memoir, and a rather devastating one. It tells the story of Cathy Rentzenbrink and her family coming to terms with a horrific accident involving her younger brother Matty and its heartbreaking aftermath. It may look, on the surface, like a misery memoir as there is certainly some misery here, but that term doesn’t come close to doing it justice. It never, at any time, feels exploitative. The opposite, in fact. And the misery is offset by warmth and gentle humour.

The early chapters are great at capturing vivid teenage moments. In one, Cathy and Matty spend a long, lazy afternoon in the garage at the back of the family pub. They end up getting on to the subject of love while Matty messes about with a broken-down motorbike. Cathy believes in love, Matty says it is an illusion, “a trick to make people procreate and look after their young”, but we sense he is bluffing, as teenage boys do. Then he admits: “I suppose if I love anyone I love you.”

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