This brief memoir is for anyone who is struggling to care for a dying loved one who has Alzheimers disease. It explores the attributes of a 48 year marriage that enabled Jack and Betsy to navigate their last and most difficult journey together; mutual respect, honest communication, enduring love, and a shared sense of humor. Betsy has written a loving and candid account of their shared experiences and her struggle to care for Jack at home in the five years that followed his Alzheimers diagnosis. While each phase of the disease's progression brought new challenges and new lessons to both of them, it was specially hard for Betsy as she grappled with decisions about Jack's care and her own needs as she tried to preserve their way of life. It tells of the many invaluable ways their hospice service helped and supported them through it all.
In a rare and precious moment of lucidity, just a few months before he died, Jack expressed his deep appreciation for her care and enduring love..."Betsy you are a little bit girlfriend, a little bit wife, a little bit mother, and a little bit saint... Be my friend untilI die".
This wise and poignant memoir by the wife who earned that tribute offers a glimpse into the joy and pain and humility that many caregivers experience as they care for someone with Alzheimers disease.