If I Could Remember

If I Could Remember: Bears & Brains & Caring For My Mother is a story of losing, and finding, one's self through Alzheimer's caregiving.

When Alzheimer's bgeins to rob her mother's cognitive abilities, Donna frantically searches for options to slow the progression of the disease. In the process, she explores the complexities inherent in all mother-daughter relationships. Amidst the stress of caregiving, she loses her sense of self-worth, neglects self-care and struggles with negative self-talk. To cope, she creates a fictional world of teddy bears at various stages of Alzheimer's. She weaves their stories with her own caregiving experiences, and with excerpts from her mother's journals and newspaper columns. This heartwarming and honest account reveals the physical and mental changes faced by Alzheimer's patients and caregivers, and how, by losing herself in caregiving, Donna ultimately finds herself.

Praise for If I Could Remember
This book belongs on the shelves of doctors, caregivers and family members who have walked alongside a loved one living with Alzheimer's.
~ Nicole Breit, award-winning poet, essayist and Best American Essays 2017 Notable author

In our ageism, and the exhaustion of caregiving, we forget that our elders were once us, and that one day we will be them. Kudos to Costa for reminding us to honor our courageous guides.
~ Gretchen Staebler, author of Mother Lode: Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver

Donna Costa is a former holistic health practitioner who integrates the world of natural health into her stories. She is a mother and grandmother who writes and gardens from the back forty in London, Ontario.