Forgetting and becoming
To become chronically ill is not only to have a disease that you have to manage, but to have a new story about yourself, a story that many people refuse to hear—because it is deeply unsatisfying, full of fits and starts, anger, resentment, chasms of unruly need.
Meghan O'Rourke • The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness
She also shared that someone very close to her was losing their cognitive functions due to dementia and this was consuming her. She felt that it was the most horrible thing. She knew a bit about my work and so she asked what I thought about the whole thing—the fact that we could lose our minds as we aged. I didn’t know what to say exactly so I... See more
I like to imagine what their dementia personality will be. What loop does their mind run when conversation dies? What story can they not stop telling at parties? What fear keeps them up at 3am?