River of Dementia

As the butcher knife flew from Dad's hand through the air, I visualized it slicing into the back of the retreating social worker. Like a Banty rooster, my dad stood on the back stoop, preening with power.

What happened to the kind, lighthearted gentleman whose strong faith had grounded him for eighty years? When I was growing up, Dad was a playful, happy man who enjoyed bringing pleasure to his loved ones. Constructing a skating rink in the barnyard, planning trailer trips to Disneyland or Montana, building a wakeboard to tow us behind his boat were gifts. Hard-working and ingenious, his whimsy disguised the changes taking place. Dad's mission to protect and care for others, while seeking his childhood dream of owning a farm, triggered a slow slide into the current of dementia.

Our family survived an experience so outlandish that I hope sharing it will comfort those who have rafted the same tempestuous river or are now undergoing a similar voyage. A tapestry spun from a treasure trove of family stories, this memoir lovingly accompanies his last journey.

The lesson of our odyssey? Mental illness affects billions of us and needs to be released from the darkness of disgrace into the light of love, care, and research.