Early onset Dementia

In a family of six siblings, three now live with Alzheimer’s. A reflection on what it means to face mortality when memory is already slipping—and the quiet mercy that dementia sometimes spares loved ones the repeated pain of loss.

“How old was Dad when he got Alzheimer’s?” “Sixty-two.” “Good,” he said. “I’m sixty-three.”

When my brother’s Alzheimer’s took away our ability to talk and connect, I lost access to him—not because of distance or choice, but because of disease. It is a different kind of grief.