Thanks, Seth. I am indeed fearful of saying/doing the wrong thing around a person facing a huge issue like Alzheimers. I can see I have to let that go. That’s the easy way out. I must reach out to these friends or acquaintances when I know what they’re facing. Again and again in many contexts I’m hearing ‘be there’ for friends. “Be willing” is how I should hear it in this context “and try.”
Brave and inspiring is right, and Seth's piece reminds me of something I've been learning and re-learning for decades: "breaking the silence" is key. The #1 slogan of AIDS advocates in the '80s was "Silence = Death." Before that, lesbians and gay men started showing the rest of us that coming out of "the closet" was key to combating erasure and ignorance. I still remember in the late '70s how awed I was by the friend who became the first person I'd ever heard speak in a public forum about being an incest survivor. Short of being murdered, Alzheimer's is the scariest fate I can imagine for myself too, but this essay reminds me that it's breaking the silence that gives others the chance to respond. I will be listening more carefully going forward. Thanks to Seth for writing this, and to you for sharing it.
So beautiful. So important. Love this man and the people around him who encourage and support his searching state of mind. It's incredible when we focus on not what we are losing but what we might find.
Thanks, Seth. I am indeed fearful of saying/doing the wrong thing around a person facing a huge issue like Alzheimers. I can see I have to let that go. That’s the easy way out. I must reach out to these friends or acquaintances when I know what they’re facing. Again and again in many contexts I’m hearing ‘be there’ for friends. “Be willing” is how I should hear it in this context “and try.”
Brave and inspiring is right, and Seth's piece reminds me of something I've been learning and re-learning for decades: "breaking the silence" is key. The #1 slogan of AIDS advocates in the '80s was "Silence = Death." Before that, lesbians and gay men started showing the rest of us that coming out of "the closet" was key to combating erasure and ignorance. I still remember in the late '70s how awed I was by the friend who became the first person I'd ever heard speak in a public forum about being an incest survivor. Short of being murdered, Alzheimer's is the scariest fate I can imagine for myself too, but this essay reminds me that it's breaking the silence that gives others the chance to respond. I will be listening more carefully going forward. Thanks to Seth for writing this, and to you for sharing it.
So beautiful. So important. Love this man and the people around him who encourage and support his searching state of mind. It's incredible when we focus on not what we are losing but what we might find.