All Comments on 'Lost in Sunlit Shadows Drifting'

Sad but brilliant! My father didn’t recognize me for the last two years of his life. That kind and gentle man never changed in his demeanor, just saw us as friendly strangers who visited him - different people each time.

Thank you for trying to capture the pain of dementia. Very moving, poignant love story well written. Experiencing something of the same as my wife’s sister is suffering Alzheimer’s disease.

Thank you, a wonderful story. It is well-written, and I believe you have captured the mindless thought of a man with dementia. A fictional stream of consciousness that rings true to me and brings thoughts of my sister and first wife.

A beautiful story that brought out strong feelings. I am so thankful my parents never had to go through that. I pray my wife and I don't either.

I just tucked my wife in bed.

She asked me for the 5th or 6th time what day it is and tomorrow are are we going over to see our oldest (who lives 400 miles away) and reminds me that Mickey (on her Mickey Mouse pajamas) likes me. She asks the same questions every day, can no longer dress herself in the morning. We were married 60 years ago. You have painted what I imagine to be an accurate portrait of a mind spiraling in on itself. I cried.

Great story!

5

All too real

My parents lived through this end-of-life process and it was dreadful to watch. My partner of 20 years died of cancer, abut was aware of everything until the end. She was in substantial pain during the last months of her illness, but she was as sharp as ever. We met late in life and didn't have the kind of memories Darrell and Lorene had, but it was good and if I think of the two alternatives, years of dementia seems to be the less desirable, but since I haven't personally lived through either I can't say for sure. I'm reminded of the anecdote told by my favorite essayist: His mother-in-law would wake up every morning and loudly shout - "Aww shit!". She was quite elderly and wanted to die in her sleep without dementia or the pain of disease and she was disappointed when she woke up each morning and found that she hadn't died in her sleep during the night. As I progress into my ninth decade I think I am beginning to understand just how she felt. 5*

Sweet story. I watched my father struggle with early dementia. His memories were fleeting, and his stories always the same. But he couldn’t remember what happened ‘yesterday’. I only pray to never know the frustration of it myself. Your character’s wife is just as it should be. Loving. Understanding. Patient. Thank you for this sweet little vignette.

This story is beautifully sad, evoking so many genuine feelings. Five stars.

Beautiful. As an old guy seeing cracks in the armor, I so hope that my wife can be patient with me or me with her. Recently watched my mom fade away. Dementia is cruel. She saw it as it advanced and ended up just not being there anymore. Again, thank you for your story.

Well written. The stream of consciousness narrative seemed to capture the essence of what it must be like to have dementia. And yet we still learn so much about the narrator, which makes the story so much more poignant.

Well done.

Well, none of us will ever know what it is like. There is no coming back to tell about it. It is much more than heartbreaking to watch your partner slowly drift away. My wife is only 62 but we are in year 5 and the 'gone' time just gradually increases and I, like so many others, are dreading the day when she no longer knows who we are. 37 years married in June. I have no idea if your story is accurate or not. I certainly hope that it is not, but I quietly fear that it may well be.

Thanks for sharing.......