BOOK OF THE WEEK: UNTIL I SAY GOODBYE BY SUSAN SPENCER-WENDEL

When journalist Susan Spencer-Wendel, 46, was diagnosed with ALS – a neurodegenerative disease that destroys muscles and inevitably causes paralysis and death – she embarked on a mission to complete her bucket list and use those experiences to create memories for her husband, three children, the rest of her family and her friends. She chronicled those events (using her one thumb on her iPhone) and her moving memoir, Until I Say Goodbye, published this week. Warning: keep a box of tissues handy. Spencer-Wendel never plays for tears, but this memoir packs an emotional punch. (Published by Harper Collins.)