> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Still My Mom: A Book for Families Facing Alzheimer’s - URL: https://www.mikebakerhq.com/writing/still-my-mom-a-book-for-families-facing-alzheimers/ - Published: 2026-07-03T21:04:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-10T08:24:55.000Z - Description: Alzheimer’s changes more than memory. It changes the rhythm of a family — conversations, holidays, roles, and the way love has to keep adapting. - Author: Mike Baker - Tags: Books and Writing, #Import 2026-08-01 07:39 Alzheimer’s changes more than memory. It changes the rhythm of a family. It changes conversations, holidays, routines, patience, roles, decisions, and the way love has to keep adapting. The person you love is still there, but the disease slowly makes them harder to reach. That is one of the cruelest parts of dementia, and it is why I wrote *Still My Mom*. This book is deeply personal. It is about my mom, our family, and the years Alzheimer’s slowly took pieces of the woman we loved. I wrote it as her son, as someone who still misses her, and as someone who understands how confusing the long goodbye can be for families trying to do the best they can while their hearts are breaking in slow motion. Families facing Alzheimer’s need more than clinical explanations. They need language for what they are feeling. They need someone to talk honestly about the grief that starts before death, the guilt that shows up at strange times, the exhaustion people do not always admit, and the love that keeps showing up even when everything has changed. ## **Why I wrote this book** When my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, our family entered a story none of us wanted. We had to learn what the disease would take, how fast it might move, what she needed from us, and what we needed from each other. Some days were tender. Some days were frustrating. Some days were confusing in ways I still struggle to explain. The hardest part was learning that grief does not wait for the funeral. With Alzheimer’s, grief arrives early and stays. You grieve the missed words, the changed expressions, the lost confidence, the ordinary routines that stop feeling ordinary. You miss someone while they are still sitting in front of you, and then you feel guilty for missing them because they are still here. That kind of grief needs a name. In our family, it felt like the long goodbye. The phrase helped me understand what we were living through, and I hope it helps other families too. ## **Who this book is for** *Still My Mom* was written for families in the middle of Alzheimer’s, dementia, caregiving, and anticipatory grief. It is for adult children trying to understand what is happening to a parent. It is for spouses watching the person they built a life with slowly change. It is for siblings trying to make decisions together while everyone is hurting in their own way. It is for caregivers who are tired, loving, overwhelmed, and still showing up. I wanted the book to be honest, but I also wanted it to be useful. At the end of each chapter, I included practical takeaways because families need something to do with what they are feeling. They need help starting conversations, planning ahead, asking better questions, forgiving themselves, and staying connected to the person they love as the disease changes what connection looks like. ## **What makes this book different** This is our family’s story, but I wrote it for other families. My mom was never a lesson or a case study to me. She was my mom. She laughed, loved, raised us, shaped us, and filled our lives long before Alzheimer’s became part of the story. I wanted the book to honor the whole person, not only the disease. Writing it meant going back into memories I had quietly stored away because they hurt. It also helped me see the love more clearly. There were moments during the writing process when I understood our family’s grief differently than I had while we were living through it. I could see how hard everyone was trying. I could see how much we carried. I could see how much love remained even when the disease made everything harder. One of the most meaningful reviews I have received came from my sister. She wrote that she moved the book around her house before she could bring herself to open it. That line stopped me because I understood exactly why. Our family had already lived this once. Reading it meant facing it again. Then she wrote that the book helped her relive our story with a different perspective. I will carry that for a long time. That is what I hope this book does for other families. I hope it gives people language, comfort, practical help, and a little more compassion for themselves and each other. ## **A book to read, keep, and share** Alzheimer’s is brutal. Dementia asks families to keep adjusting to new losses while still loving someone with everything they have. It brings confusion, guilt, exhaustion, tenderness, fear, and moments of unexpected grace. Families should not have to walk through that alone. If Alzheimer’s or dementia has touched your family, I hope *Still My Mom* helps you feel less alone. If someone you love is walking through this right now, this may be a meaningful book to send them. It gives words to a kind of grief many families feel but do not always know how to explain. *Still My Mom* is available now on Amazon. [https://a.co/d/0b362kFt](https://a.co/d/0b362kFt?ref=mikebakerhq.com) You can also browse all of my books here: [https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books](https://www.mikebakerhq.com/books/)