Click here to listen to a short interview with the author of

Dear Judy–A Love Story Rewritten by Alzheimer’s

“…This is a beautifully heartbreaking memoir and should be a source of edification and comfort to anyone with a similar experience…A sadly tender and fiercely intelligent remembrance of a loved one and loss.”  

Kirkus Reviews, August 2023 

For full review, click here: 

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/michael-f-james/dear-judy/

“This heart-rending debut paints a profound portrait of Alzheimer’s devastating effects on a devoted couple…A touching anthem on love’s power in the face of Alzheimer’s disease.”  

Publishers Weekly BOOKLIFE, August 2023 

EDITOR’S PICK 

For full review, click here: 

https://booklife.com/project/dear-judy-a-love-story-rewritten-by-alzheimer-s-86958

“This book is a love story, a tragedy and a crucible story. It examines how one couple behaves when their backs are up against the wall. It’s beautifully written, profoundly moving and deeply useful.”

Mary Pipher – New York Times bestselling author of

Women Rowing North and Reviving Ophelia

“We learn how to live by observing the lives of others, and this clear, truthful account of a great personal loss can be seen as a gift, showing us how we, too, when inevitably confronted by loss, might gather our strengths and go on.”

Ted Kooser – U. S. Poet Laureate 2004-2006

“Even though Michael James is writing about the world of Alzheimer’s, where words themselves are erased, he finds the language to tell a remarkable story of love and devotion.  We see him navigate this heartbreaking place, at first with Judith and then for Judith. He tells their story with honesty and clarity, educating himself and us along the way.  He learns to focus on the moment at hand. Where we might expect to find despair, we find instead a place where empathy and compassion are alive.”

   Stuart Kestenbaum, writer and poet, Maine Poet Laureate 2016 – 2020

Former director of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

“In the end, it’s all in the details.  Also in the beginning.  Michael James writes like the artist he is, in the design he’s created for telling this involving story, and his accomplished execution, which is mercilessly honest, astonishingly graceful, and always keeps in balance the difference between the beloved and the disease.  It is no small feat and the result is quite unforgettable.” 

Beth Gutcheon, best-selling author whose novels include

  More Than You Know, Leeway Cottage, Gossip, and The Affliction

 

“Michael James’s Dear Judy: A Love Story Rewritten by Alzheimer’s is a notable addition to the lengthening list of books about caring for a loved one with dementia.  As well as offering graceful prose, compelling pacing, clear organization, and abundant detail including a useful bibliography and notes, Dear Judy is refreshingly candid in its portrayal of the struggling husband in his human vulnerability.  Not only as spousal caregiver but also as narrator, James’s conscientiousness, patience, and generosity are evident on every page of this poignant memoir.”

Rachel Hadas is Emerita Professor at Rutgers University—Newark

and the author of more than 20 books of poetry, essays, and translations,

including the memoir Strange Relation