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Marilyn Raichle grew up in the shadow of Alzheimer’s. Nearly everyone in her father’s family and many in her mother’s developed the disease. Her mother, Jean, told her, “When we get Alzheimer’s, walk away. There is nothing you can do, so live your life and don’t sacrifice it for us.” Instead, while experiencing her mother’s art, Marilyn realized the value of partnering with people with dementia and began to appreciate her mother in a new way.

Join host Jean Feldeisen in conversation with Marilyn about her personal discovery. And consider her invitation to caregivers to separate their grief over the loss of the person they knew, from assumptions about the changed person in the present. She describes a profound difference in how she viewed her mother — not as someone diagnosed with Alzheimers but as a person living with Alzheimers. Or even as a team managing Alzheimers together.

Marilyn began her career in the performing arts. She founded the Seattle International Children’s Festival, introducing children to world culture through the performing arts. In 2007, she received a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Since her mother’s death she has written a book, Don’t Walk Away: A Care Partner’s Journey that features her mother’s art and how it changed the way Marilyn saw Alzheimers. She has created a foundation, The Art of Alzheimers, that focuses on the power of the creative arts to enrich and empower the lives of people with the diagnosis. She is now the Executive Director of Maude’s Awards for Innovation in Alzheimer’s Care.

Show Notes

Buy Don’t Walk Away: A Care Partner’s Journey, by Marilyn Raichle on Amazon, or on Barnes & Noble.

Link to Marilyn's website
Link to her LinkedIn page
Link to Marilyn on Alzheimers Authors

Buy Jean Anne Feldeisen’s recent book of poetry, South Jersey Sand at Kelsay Books or on Amazon.

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