Swimming Solo

Susan Rava’s story begins with the first suspicion that her father-in-law, Paul, was lapsing into dementia after he set out to swim solo across Lake Michigan. Subsequently, Paul's wife, Silvia, and Susan Rava's parents, George and Dorothy, succumb to Alzheimer's disease. This beautifully written memoir culminates with Dorothy's death, 14 years after Paul's fateful swim. Rava speaks honestly about the emotional and spiritual challenges she, her husband, John, and other members of their family faced as they learned how to say goodbye to four vital, accomplished people as they retreated into dementia.

Susan Rava’s story begins with the first suspicion that her father-in-law, Paul, was lapsing into dementia after he set out to swim solo across Lake Michigan. Subsequently, Paul's wife, Silvia, and Susan Rava's parents, George and Dorothy, succumb to Alzheimer's disease. This beautifully written memoir culminates with Dorothy's death, 14 years after Paul's fateful swim. Rava speaks honestly about the emotional and spiritual challenges she, her husband, John, and other members of their family faced as they learned how to say goodbye to four vital, accomplished people as they retreated into dementia. If you, or someone you love, is facing the emotional and spiritual challenges of Alzheimer's caregiving, this book will offer solace. If you are a counselor, pastor, or spiritual adviser, Swimming Solo will give you new insights to care for the emotional and spiritual needs of caregivers who come to you seeking solace and support. If you are a health care professional, "Swimming Solo" will give you insights as you deal with the worries and fears of the families of Alzheimer's Disease victims in your care.

Susan Rava, author of the critically acclaimed Swimming Solo: A Daughter’s Memoir of Her Parents, His Parents, and Alzheimer’s Disease, is a retired senior lecturer in French language and literature at Washington University in St. Louis. Her essays have appeared in the New York Times Book Review and the Christian Science Monitor. Two of her short stories received honorable mentions in Houghton Mifflin’s Best American Short Stories of 1986 and 1987.