Cathie Borrie's Books: The Wisdom of Dementia

When you read Cathie Borrie’s book looking into your voice: the poetic and eccentric realities of alzheimer's, you’ll find the wisdom of dementia in her mother’s words.  When Cathie asks her mother what love is, she says “it’s the sublime felt between two people in the same working order.” 

When you read Cathie’s other book The Long Hello ~ The Other Side of Alzheimer's , you’ll find the story of the terrible losses that led to that wisdom.  Alzheimer’s provides the frame and the language as Cathie and her mother travel back in time.  They revisit long-buried events and emotions.  They talk about the big things in life, often via a sort of delicate Socratic method with Cathie posing the questions.   Somehow, as her mother’s life is winding down, Cathie makes peace with her family history.
 
Just as each listener can find his own meaning in conversations with people with dementia, each reader will find his own meaning in Cathie’s books.

Comments

[Cathy Greenblat]

The Long Hello is indeed a lovely book. It is very different from other memoirs by caregiving spouses or children. I was delighted to find it and have recommended it to many others who shared my admiration for both the caregiving and the writing, for the poetic character of it, and mostly for the extraordinary honesty of the author.
Cathy Greenblat

[margaret]

Thanks for this article, Mona, and for your comment, Cathy. You've both just inspired me to get to know this author.

The Long Hello book sounds very close to my own experience with the onset of dementia provoking some sweet, tender, much-needed family closure after years of rough stuff.