Walking Each Other Home: Spiritual Companionship for Dementia Caregivers

Dementia changes everything-and not just for the person who receives the diagnosis.

Each of the 5.6 million Americans with dementia has one or more caregivers struggling to make meaning while watching their loved one's personality vanish. The caregiver is sure to be changed-not only by the myriad tasks and responsibilities, but by the soul-searching questions: Dare I hope? Who's to blame? What do I do with my anger? Where's God in this? These questions of doubt, guilt, intimacy, depression, and acceptance are ultimately questions of spirit.

This book is distinctive: it directly addresses the spiritual needs of the caregiver. It invites the reader to explore his or her own spiritual journey rather than offering pre-determined answers. Appropriate, both for people with faith and people without religion, it encourages dementia caregivers to probe their spiritual questions along with a sympathetic author, one who walked her husband through early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Jean Denton has woven together two careers: nursing and public health and spiritual direction and priesthood in the Episcopal Church. She is the author of Good is the Flesh: Body, Soul, and Christian Faith. She lives near Los Angeles, California.