Vicky Ruppert

I was a microbiologist by profession, but saw the tremendous need for a book telling what a caregiver's life is truly like. My husband suffered with this disease (Alzheimer's) for 19 years, half of our son's life! I wanted to write a book that validates the wide swings of emotion that a caregiver experiences, and that the emotions are perfectly normal given the circumstances.

For this endeavor, I partnered with Ann Henderberg, my constant emotional support for the last three years of our husbands lives. To my knowledge, two caregivers have not joined together to be each other's main emotional support through dementia, nor have two caregivers written their story about it. The book is not "sanitized" for a good reason. We wanted to show our truthful day to day thoughts and frustrations. For us, that was the kind of book that was most helpful and cathartic.

I grew up in New Jersey in a working class family. I was the first in my family to go to college (University of Delaware) and became a Medical Technologist in microbiology. I worked in a clinical laboratory and loved the work. My specialties were identifying molds, parasites, and anaerobic organisms. I loved the microscope work and started photographing the organisms I saw as a hobby. My only sibling, a sister, became a dental hygienist.

I married my high school sweetheart. He was warm, gentle, and athletic man who kept life interesting with scuba diving, wind surfing, canoeing, and enjoyment of all that nature had to offer. He was the love of my life and taught me a lot about myself and others. He was a school psychologist and family therapist, and he was a modern man who did child care, housework, cooking, and grocery shopping! He was loyal and humorous. What more could I ask for?