I was sure that when I turned in the final copy of the book to the publisher on Tuesday, that it was already out of date. I’d just given two talks at chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association, and the audiences really got what I was saying. We can no longer raise awareness of Alzheimer’s with a message of fear alone. Doing this only restigmatizes the amazing people who are living with this disease.
Then today, my husband sent me this article from Alternet, which does exactly that. The moment when a parent doesn’t recognize you is indeed very painful. But it is not the end of your relationship. It might even, in some cases, as Deborah Hoffman showed us in Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter oh so long ago, be the beginning of something better.
The numbers are frightening. They do feel overwhelming. And we should do something. But the experience of dementia can have meaning. We can’t empty out the meaning of people’s lives in the hopes that it will raise awareness and dollars for research.
