I’m Debbi McCune. Doug and I were together for more than 33 years.

Dementia became part of our story in 2013, when he was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, followed by dementia and Alzheimer’s in 2016. For the years that followed, I was by his side as his wife and care partner.

I started this blog while we were living that life together. I wrote about the heartbreak, the frustration, the laughter, the things I was learning, and the ways we kept finding joy even as dementia changed our lives.

Since Doug passed away, I’ve found myself looking back at some of those years with a different understanding. There are things I can see now that I couldn’t always see when I was in the middle of living them. So I’m still writing.

Some of what you’ll find here was written while Doug and I were living with dementia. Some is what I understand now, looking back. All of it is our story, told honestly, with love, and without pretending dementia was anything other than what it was, a mean disease that sucks.

If you love someone living with dementia, I hope something here helps you feel understood, gives you a different way of seeing something you’re experiencing, or simply reminds you that there can still be moments of joy alongside the hard.

Thanks for being here.