Losing Us

Losing Us: A Dementia Caregiver's Journey, is a candid, compassionate and sometimes humorous memoir of Author Rosella Leslie's heartbreaking struggles and triumphs during her twelve years as her husband's primary caregiver. It is also an informal guide to dementia caregiving, including links to helpful resources for caregivers, their friends, families and communities. The poems that begin and end each chapter capture the frustration and sorrow of her husband's ever-shifting cognitive abilities and the emotional rollercoaster Leslie rides, rising to heights of acceptance, joy and resolve, then plunging to valleys of guilt, doubt and despair. She urges caregivers to accept dark thoughts and harsh feelings as a natural response to being in an impossible situation, and to keep putting one foot in front of the other as they move toward the faint light of hope that shines at the end of this very dark tunnel.