In Love by Amy Bloom

Jeff and I have Alzheimer's disease on both sides of our family, so books about families who gracefully deal with the disease inspire me. But I have never read a book quite like "In Love" by Amy Bloom. This is a small, heartbreaking book, but at the same time I found it quite educational as far as learning about end-of-life options. Amy, a New York Times best-selling author, started to notice changes in her husband, Brian. At first these changes were small, like typical memory lapses that come with aging. Then, he would set out to meet some friends, only to come home because he could not find the house he was going to. When he quit a job he loved, and then started to distance himself from friends, the couple decided to seek medical help. An MRI revealed, without a doubt that Brian had early signs of Alzheimer's disease. Brian, at this point still able to make decisions for himself, told his wife he was crystal clear he wanted to die on his own terms, peacefully, and before his disease progressed much further. After extensive research and a lengthy application process, Brian and Amy made the trip to Switzerland where they enrolled Brian in an end-of-life organization called Dignitas. There were many hoops to jump through to obtain the Dignitas acceptance letter, but they were determined to see it through to the end. Amy’s writing is no-nonsense and, at times even witty, despite the dark circumstances. What makes her writing, and this book, so herculean is that instead of fighting or disagreeing with Brian’s wishes, she honored and supported him every step of the way. After all is said and done, this is a true love story.   To buy this book on Amazon click here.