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Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite
Meredith Rutter Marple's I Live You For Ever is a memoir that documents her husband Gary’s descent into dementia and her role as a caregiver. The memoir captures her experiences, thoughts, and reflections, starting on May 14, 2010. She notices the mild slips, like memory lapses and getting lost, and then moves on to track Gary’s diagnosis with amyloid angiopathy and vascular dementia. The memoir chronicles their journey over nearly a decade. Meredith shares details about medical care, safety measures, and how she maintained their snowbird lifestyle between Florida and Maine. Gary’s condition worsens with disturbing signs like hallucination, incontinence, and driving errors. Will she commit the love of her life to a memory care facility where he can receive professional nursing?
I Live You For Ever: Dementia in a Loving Marriage is unique in its delivery. Meredith Rutter Marple writes about her relationship with Gary as though it were happening right now, which makes their connection even more believable and compelling. She mixes her discussions of love and loss well. One of the themes I appreciated was the author’s view of how caring for a loved one can shape our identity. The book discusses “loss of self” resulting from caregiving and follows the author’s journey to reclaim her identity. I also enjoyed how she addresses the fear of leaving loved ones in a professional institution. This insightful memoir is a story of courage, a journey through illness, and the transformations that happen while loving and caring for someone.
