I Still Do: Loving and Living with Alzheimer’s
I Still Do was written to help anyone who has or may be coping with someone in their family who has Alzheimer’s. It is a candid and emotional portrayal of author Judith Fox’s husband Ed along with their heartfelt story. Fox loves photography and capturing that perfect picture, and it shows in the photos in this book, as well as in the striking photo on the book cover. Fox goes into detail about the couple's life together, and she portrays her husband as a genius, athlete, aviator, and talks about his duties as a surgeon.
She explains that he is slowly being robbed of his memories and how hard it is to deal with him slipping away a little more each day. The book is actually set up in paragraphs with pictures accompanying them. The photos are all of Ed in different poses and situations. There are pictures where you can almost see right into his soul, and there are actual tears in his eyes. The pictures are a mixture of funny, candid, and everyday photos of a man who is slowly slipping away. There is one funny picture where Ed is sticking out his tongue in a small round shaving mirror, which shows that he still has some sense of humour and wit. This is how the book becomes real for the reader and truly touching.
Judith Fox wanted the reader to really see the soul of her husband and even shot one picture of him completely naked—minus his penis, of course! Judith goes into detail about the disease and how she has a caregiver to help her with Ed. She also explains the day to day issues that come with caring for someone with Alzheimer’s and the toll it can take on their loved ones. She only tells her husband bits and pieces about his disease, and he has apologized for putting her through the whole ordeal. Sadly, Ed doesn’t remember that they are even married! However, for Judith just loving each other is enough. The story ends with the one thing that the couple used to always say to each other. “I still do…and I always will.” This story will make you believe in true and lasting love.
Written by: Amber Whitman-Currier, December 20th 2009
This book reminds me of that movie Away From Her by Sarah Polley. Such an interesting and moving topic to explore.
What a sweet review. The author sounds like a truly wonderful human being.
Thank you, Amber, for your lovely review. One of the reasons I wrote "I Still Do: Loving and Living with Alzheimer's" is to help destigmatize the disease and increase awareness and understanding of the impact AD has on individuals—and, by extension, families and communities.
I'm grateful that you've introduced your readers to my book and are helping expand the conversation. Only by doing that will AD get the attention, funding, resources and support that's desperately needed.
Judith Fox. http://judithfox.wordpress.com