By Lauren Dykovitz
When I was 25 years old, my 62-year-old mom was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s. My world was turned upside down. I suffered in silence for the first few years because I didn’t think anyone my age could possibly understand what I was going through. That changed when I started my blog Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s in 2014, which led to writing and publishing my first book Learning to Weather the Storm: A Story of Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s in 2017. Writing about my experience and sharing it with others allowed me to process and cope with everything I was going through. It also allowed me to connect with many other Alzheimer’s daughters who shared my pain and could relate to my experience.
My first book told the first half of my journey with my mom’s Alzheimer’s. I always intended on writing another book to tell the second half of my story. Several months after my mom passed away in April 2020, I began writing my second book, When Only Love Remains: Surviving My Mom’s Battle with Early Onset Alzheimer’s, which I published in July 2021. It is a raw, honest, and vulnerable account of my experience with the later stages of my mom’s Alzheimer’s. I write all about being a caregiver for my mom, the process of finding and hiring in-home care, coping with the later stages and hospice, and the final days of my mom’s life. I also write about my mom’s limited funeral due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place at the time and how that contributed to my grief.
I didn’t hold anything back when writing this book. I openly shared all of the thoughts and feelings I had throughout the second half of my mom’s battle with Alzheimer’s. Many times, I was physically cringing as I wrote the words—nervous to admit to certain thoughts or feelings I had—but I felt it was of the utmost importance to share it all so that others won’t feel so alone on this journey. That was my main reason for writing this book and for sharing my story at all—so that other people going through it wouldn’t feel so alone like I did at the beginning of my mom’s battle. I wanted to become the person I needed to hear from when my mom was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I wanted to write the story that I needed to read back then.
Since my second book was published, I have heard from many readers who say they feel like I wrote their story. They find so many similarities between our experiences and deeply connect with many of the thoughts and feelings I shared. Many readers have thanked me for writing this book because it puts into words what they cannot. I am honored to be a voice for those who are suffering in silence. I can only hope to continue to do our stories justice and make my mom proud along the way.
Purchase When Only Remains on Amazon
Purchase Learning to Weather the Storm on Amazon
About the Author
Lauren Dykovitz is a writer and author, who lives in New Jersey with her husband and two black labs. Lauren’s mom was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s in July 2010 at the age of 62. Lauren was only 25 years old at the time. She quit her full-time job and became a caregiver for her mom at age 28.
Lauren started the Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s blog and social media pages to document her journey and share her experience as a caregiver. She self-published her first book Learning to Weather the Storm: A Story of Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s in 2017 and her second book When Only Love Remains: Surviving My Mom’s Battle with Early Onset Alzheimer’s in 2021. Lauren is also a contributor to AlzheimersDisease.net and a member of AlzAuthors.
Although her mom passed in April 2020, it is Lauren’s mission to help others on their Alzheimer’s journey by sharing stories and lessons from her personal experience. In many ways, she feels like she is just getting started!
Connect with Lauren
Website: Life, Love and Alzheimer’s
