The Alzheimer's Spouse. Finding the Grace to Keep the Promise
 
Everyone surrounding a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease struggles. But caring for a spouse is unique in that the couple is tied to each other on every level--financial, psychological, emotional, sexual, the choice of where we make our home, the turns we take in our careers, the hopes we have for the future, and the tears we shed together.
 
Once Alzheimer’s intrudes into a marriage, we find ourselves joined to someone who can no longer fully participate in that relationship.
Our spouse’s declining health results in a continuous and predictable stream of losses for both of us. As the spouse of a loved one with Alzheimer’s, we are suspended in a perpetual state of grief and mourning. We recover from one dramatic change only to encounter the next, helplessly watching the steady devastation of our life-partner.
 
The Alzheimer’s Spouse. Finding the Grace to Keep the Promise is certainly not an “enjoyable” read but a valuable one on multiple levels. It offers understanding, practical guidance, credible data, and honest stories from Mary K. Doyle’s experience. It also offers validation in that we are living out our vows to the extreme as we care for spouses unable to care for themselves. We are giving of ourselves, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, in the best way we can, as we find the grace to keep the promise.