Overview

Florrie Munat became her husband Chuck's caregiver on the day he suffered a severe stroke. Any chances for his recovery were derailed when they learned that Chuck was also suffering from Lewy body dementia. After that devastating news, Florrie and Chuck assumed their loving marriage had been shattered forever. But what happened next surprised them. With honesty, humor, and compassion, Florrie's inspiring memoir invites the reader to walk in her shoes as she navigates the roller-coaster journey of caregiving for a spouse with dementia. Despite the daily challenges, she comes to appreciate the reciprocal nature of caregiving-with gifts both given and received. Eventually, she discovers the most important lesson of all: that her role as a caregiver has helped her understand the depth and magnitude of her love for Chuck.

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9780999009208

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Reviews

A book of compassion, faith, and generosity...Florrie Munat helps us understand the complex mixture of heartache and letting go. -Rebecca Wells, New York Times best-selling author of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood A widow details her husband's final years-when he was in a nursing home-but also presents a sweeping view of their four decades together... Munat provides a clear sense of marriage as an ongoing passage, along with chronicling her separate caregiving journey...Visiting Chuck nearly every day for six years was a drain but also a labor of love. 'Illness could not take away what we'd always had: an abiding love and respect for each other, ' she writes. 'And that kind of love does not come to an end.' A beautiful, richly panoramic book that should reassure caregivers and delight memoir readers. -Kirkus Reviews [starred review] Munat tells the story with great detail of her day-to-day struggle with Chuck...[She] does a great job portraying the emotional highs and lows that she felt throughout the six years of her husband's illness. In particular, the book sheds light on how tiring and stressful it is for someone to take care of their spouse full-time and the importance of caregivers taking care of themselves...The writing is strong and while this is not a lighthearted read, it will be an insightful story for people in all stages of life. -Brian Johnston, Public Libraries Online

Author Information

Florrie Munat spent six years caregiving for her husband while he struggled with Lewy body dementia. She has published nonfiction books and articles for children, written over 100 book reviews for young adults, and recorded hundreds of short stories and audiobooks for the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library. A former librarian, English teacher, and university press worker, she lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington, where she continues to write about and serve the caregiving community.

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