What happens to a marriage --and to a woman's life -- when her husband slowly unravels from an incurable disease?With raw honesty, piercing insight, and dark humor, "Slow Loss" tells the inspiring story of a woman's attempt to hold together her marriage and herself as her husband unravels from Parkinson's and dementia over 12 years.This brave, compassionate memoir lays bare the realities of slowly losing a partner from a chronic disease. It chronicles heartbreaking surprises, crazy caregiver realities, yearnful introspection, the relief of death, and the emergence from suffering."Slow Loss" is more than one woman's poignant story. It is a rallying cry for caregiver self-compassion and hope. Let Lois Kelly's wisdom be your lifeline.**"With naked honesty and black humor, Lois Kelly tells us the story of her marriage. It's her story, but it's mine too, and yours, if you are caring for a spouse with a chronic illness.
I thought I knew how to help caregivers when I practiced medicine, but after living with my husband's Parkinson's for 25 years, I now know better. This story is instructive, entertaining, and profoundly thought-provoking. Read it and pass it on.Patricia Gifford, MD"For anyone caring for someone with a debilitating, life-altering disease and is not interested in bumper sticker-insta-happy-crappy nonsense but rather the fierce, cleansing of honesty, read this book. There is speckled hope here, but even more so is respect: for the love she and her husband shared, for the relentless press of the disease, and for our capacity to tolerate the truth and, from that piercing honesty, be changed." Maria Sirois, Psy.D., author, A Short Course in Happiness After Loss (and Other Dark, Difficult Times.
)"Lois Kelly takes us on an achingly real and emotional journey. Many caregiving books unintentionally make caregivers feel guilty about what they should do for themselves or their care recipients. Not 'Slow Loss.' This story of how the author coped reminds caregivers that relationships are not easy, life is messy and unpredictable, and it is all OK." Joan Monin, PhD., associate professor, Yale School of Public Health.