“Myrna Marofsky’s starkly honest—and beautifully loving—account of caring for her husband through Alzheimer’s will no doubt help others walking this challenging path.” —Tia Newcomer, CEO of Caring Bridge
A heartfelt memoir of loving someone with dementia. Myrna’s story of taking care of a husband with Alzheimer’s is a gift to those experiencing the other side of a diagnosis.
When Myrna Marofsky’s husband was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s, she faced a choice that many caregivers encounter: succumb to the “tragedy talk” that surrounds dementia or rise above it. Marofsky chose the latter, rejecting the narrative of despair and embracing a mindset of living lovingly, determined to keep bad news from becoming a bad life.
In her memoir, To the Last Dance, Marofsky describes how she reframed the role of caregiving from a burdensome responsibility to an intentional choice she calls Care-LIVING. Her honest and heartfelt story encourages care partners to focus on what is still possible rather than mourn what they are losing.
Being on the other side of a progressive disease leaves one feeling alone, without a compass, and struggling to find meaning every day. Two simple yet profound questions helped Marofsky find years of living and loving through dementia:
How do you want to live each day?
How do you want to feel in the end?
This candid memoir is not another to-do list or dementia caregiver’s guide. Instead, it is a real-life love story, demonstrating a way of living that:
redefines caregiving as Care-LIVING,
dismisses the “tragedy talk,”
maintains identity and relationships, and
finds possibilities and hope in the mist of adversity.
Marofsky’s story will inspire readers to navigate the complexities on the other side of dementia with purpose and meaning to an end of no regrets and, hopefully, one last dance.
“A story of navigating a partner’s life with dementia using love, dignity, and respect as guideposts—adapting to all that irrevocably changes, while embracing and celebrating all that endures.”
—G. Allen Power, MD, geriatrician and author of Dementia Beyond Disease
