"In a kind of family alchemy, a mother's failing memory somehow excites the synapses of her daughter's. Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline and Sanctuary of the Soul I commend THE GEOGRAPHY OF MEMORY to you."- Richard J. While Walker does not flinch from the calamities and sorrows of this journey, she also provides us with fresh glimpses into hidden joys and startling surprises along the way. "With THE GEOGRAPHY OF MEMORY, Jeanne Murray Walker, a master wordsmith, takes us on a journey-dare I say sacred pilgrimage-into the inner world of Alzheimer's. Against expectation we are invited to join their hilarious, daunting dance: a boogie of decline whose haunting music persists."- Luci Shaw, poet, author of The Crime of Living Cautiously and What the Light Was Like, writer in residence at Regent College I read it, mesmerized, wondering my way through this deeply moving portrait of a mother, a daughter, a family. Her story is a map of memory with mythical overtones, by which I mean that while its shape is recognizable, its details are utterly unique. "Alzheimer's and death of a parent is a journey that others have told us about but few with such penetration and humane wisdom as Jeanne Walker's. The Geography of Memory is not only a personal journey made public in the most engaging, funny, and revealing way possible, here is a story of redemption for anyone who is caring for or expecting to care for ill and aging parents-and for all the rest of us as well. She rediscovers and begins to understand her own past, as well as to enter more fully into her mother’s final years. Her mother’s memory, which more and more dwells in the distant past, illuminates Walker’s own childhood. As Walker leans in to the task of caring for her mother, their relationship unexpectedly deepens and becomes life-giving. This is a multi-layered narrative of generations, faith, and friendship. While Walker does not flinch from the horrors of “the ugly twins, aging and death,” her eye for the apt image provides a window into unexpected joy and humor even during the darkest days. This powerful story explores parental love, profound grief, and the unexpected consolation of memory. Award-winning poet Jeanne Murray Walker tells an extraordinarily wise, witty, and quietly wrenching tale of her mother’s long passage into dementia.
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