The Last Childhood

            Thirteen years ago when we placed our mother in an Alzheimer’s unit at the Chelsea Methodist home, our family was overwhelmed with the responsibility of her care and also drained by the decision to place her in a home.  We felt like we had hit some horrible emotional rock bottom.  We had no idea that this would be the first of many hard decisions or that we would have ten more years ahead of us filled with loss and grief.
            My family asked me to write The Last Childhood because they believed no one had told them the truth about the long slow progression of Alzheimer’s and the amazing toll it takes on everyone.  With their help, I did my best to talk about our experiences, our emotional ups and downs, and the vigilance it took to remain our mother’s advocate through some pretty rough uncharted territory.
            A small local press first published the book, then Three Rivers Press, an imprint of Random House, bought it.  In between the two books I spent three years traveling around the country lecturing and educating family members, medical staffs and assisted living facilities on what to expect as Alzheimer’s progresses and how best to protect and care for loved ones. Thanks to all the stories other families and medical personnel have shared with me, I was able to add five new chapters to the second book, including an addenda that discusses the various stages of Alzheimer’s and the things family members can and should do in order to prepare themselves for caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s.
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            Carrie Knowles