When my father passed away in April, 2000, my sister and I were confronted with the clear fact that our mother could no longer take care of herself. Dad had done such a good job "covering" for her, that the family was not aware of Mom's increasing incapacity. It was up to my sister and I, then, to determine what was going on inside Mom's body to cause these changes, and what needed to happen for her to be as safe and happy as she could be after losing her partner of 62 years.

This book is a very personal account of the time from my father's death to my mother's death. During these six years, our family worked through lots of tough decisions, shared lots of memories, and expressed lots of love. We learned about things we never expected to learn. We did things we never expected to do. We had to shift perceptions and our roles as we carried out the necessary steps in helping our mom through Alzheimer's.

Until you experience it yourself, it is hard to imagine how you will feel when the parent who bore you looks at you blankly and treats you like a stranger.