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Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Grief and Mental Health

I’m Happy She Still Knew I Was Her Daughter at My Wedding Despite Alzheimer’s

We were originally supposed to get married in May of 2008. But, when it was clear that my mother’s early onset Alzheimer’s disease was progressing rapidly, we moved the wedding up by four months. I’m happy she still knew I was her daughter at my wedding despite Alzheimer’s disease. Fifteen years ago today, on January […]

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Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia

Progression of My Mother’s Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease in Photos

After watching Still Alice with my husband, I wanted to see the progression of my mother’s early onset Alzheimer’s disease in photos. I looked through photos of my mom from old blog posts. I put them in chronological order to create a visual timeline of her decline. People who stopped visiting her during her illness […]

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Faith Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Motherhood and Parenting

When You Don’t Feel Like You Are Enough

I’ll never forget the day I missed my oldest daughter rolling over for the first time. My precious baby was in good hands, of course. My mother-in-law was watching her downstairs in our living room while I worked upstairs, futilely trying to run a nonprofit from my home office right after giving birth to my […]

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Grief and Mental Health Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Faith

I Never Wanted to be the Grief Girl but I Lost My Mom to Alzheimer’s

I never wanted to be the grief girl but I lost my mom to Alzheimer’s. I’ve been a writer since I was 9 years old. In fourth grace language arts class, I soaked up sentence diagramming and essay structure like it was manna from heaven. Words and language became my currency, and crafting fictional short […]

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Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Grief and Mental Health

The Reality Behind Love of Dixie: Journaling My Mother’s Early Onset Alzheimer’s

This is the real story of Love of Dixie. This blog began as a journal of my mother’s early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The reality behind Love of Dixie This blog has now sold thousands of Texas Strong t-shirts and published a children’s book. But, back then, it was not glamorous or funny or popular or […]