What If Dementia Does Not Erase Personhood? With Marilyn Raichle

Send us Fan MailDementia is often treated like a door slamming shut. What we hear from Marilyn is the opposite: a series of doors opening once we stop chasing who someone used to be and start meeting who they are right now. We talk about caring for parents with dementia, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s, and how one family’s long-held rule to “walk away” collided with the real work of love, grief, and showing up.We dig into what changes when you embrace the idea of “living with dementia” instead of “suffering from it,” and why person-first language is more than politeness. Marilyn shares how her mom’s move into assisted living created unexpected community, why touch and friendship still matter in memory care, and how repeated questions can hold real meaning if we learn to listen. Along the way, we explore caregiver health, burnout, and why so many family caregivers operate without a net.The most surprising thread is art. A painting class reveals a spark that fear had been hiding in plain sight, and Marilyn explains how creativity can disarm stigma: Alzheimer’s is scary and art isn’t. We also talk about her book, Don’t Walk Away: A Care Partner’s Journey, built from daily moments and illustrated by her mom’s remarkable paintings, plus the bigger system problem of cost and access in quality dementia care.If you’re supporting aging parents, navigating Alzheimer’s caregiving, or trying to communicate better with someone living with memory loss, this conversation offers practical insight and real hope. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find these stories.Marilyn Raichle's book can be found via Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I have provided both links below. I also included the website where you can access more information about Marilyn:https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Walk-Away-Partners-Journey/dp/B0DCBMQNDBhttps://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dont-walk-away-marilyn-raichle/1144871940?ean=9781969682223https://dontwalkaway.net/about/ Support the show