I have a dog and her name is Autumn. Autumn is a pretty dog and I love her very much. When she comes in the house she sometimes makes a mess. I clean it up because it's not her fault. She spends much of her time on the porch alone. It is fenced in so she won't wander off. I don't like to do this, but if I allow her to go free I would have to watch her all the time. Autumn doesn't like being on the porch, but she has no choice. Her life is in my hands. All her decisions are made by me.
Sometimes she looks at me with those big sad eyes to ask the question, why? Why don't you trust me enough to let me go out on my own? To walk in the yard and feel the sun on my face? Why do you treat me with such disrespect? I answer, "because you are a dog, and I have to take care of you." Autumn looks back at me with those same loving eyes as if to say, "yes, but I'm your dog."
This is not a book about the cause or treatments of Alzheimer's. This is not a book about the research or medications now being used to try and control this illness. This is not a book of condemnation involving the treatment of my mother. What this book is, is about the awful effect Alzheimer's had on my mother and me. A disease that robbed my mother of her dignity while all I could do was watch.
This is the story of a woman that raised three boys, and her descent into an illness that took away her ability to function as a mother, and a normal human being. This is the story of her life and our struggle with this horrible disease.
