Walking with Fay, Carolyn Birrell
Walking with Fay, Carolyn Birrell
List: $15.99 | Sale: $11.20
Club: $7.99

Walking with Fay
My Mother’s Uncharted Path into Dementia

Author: Carolyn Birrell

Narrator: Allison Hart

Unabridged: 8 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/02/2022


Synopsis

In 2012, Carolyn Birrell flew down to Georgia to kidnap her mother.
Fay had been living by herself since her husband’s death in 2000 and clung fiercely to her independence. She went to church on Sundays, paid her bills on time, and volunteered at Vacation Bible School every summer. But at 79 years old, she’d begun showing escalating signs of early-stage dementia, each one making it harder for her daughter to discount as simple signs of aging.
After receiving calls from Fay’s local sheriff and the Department of Family Services, Carolyn took action. She quickly came to understand the meaning of the adage, “When we make plans the Universe laughs,” because hers required endless do-overs as she struggled to keep pace with her mother’s ever-progressing disease.
This is the story of Carolyn’s mother, her dementia, and how they navigated her journey together. Your loved one may not force feed stuffed animals vanilla pudding or burn their neighbor’s mail like Fay did, but if you’re living through the sad realities of your loved one’s slow and tortuous farewell, this book will help you find solace as you deal with it realistically and with a heart at peace.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Scott on March 10, 2022

I rarely cry. I'm a pretty sensitive guy, but still a guy. It takes a bit to elicit tears. Well, I read the book, and I found myself engrossed. And then, I cried while reading the chapter called, “Final Chapter”. One could read only THIS chapter, and it would be worth the price of the book. Yep, I cri......more

Goodreads review by Katie on January 09, 2023

Hard to be critical of a book about a mother/daughter navigating dementia. While the author and all caregivers are to be applauded, the book is not. Let's just say it was a LOOOOOOOONNNGGG walk with Fay. The author made us "walk" as long and as far as she did, and I felt as exhausted by the journey.......more

Goodreads review by Alicia on March 06, 2022

I am currently in the very early stages of my own “walk” on my mother, Lilia’s, journey into dementia. I found Carolyn’s book so helpful, instructive, comforting, reassuring, and written with much needed humor and lightheartedness…comic relief is something much needed during this time. Her way of hu......more

Goodreads review by Lauren on March 06, 2022

Within the first chapter, I thought of three people in my life who would relate to this story and gain insight from reading about this difficult path. Carolyn shares her real life experiences and struggles, pain and trauma with such an open honesty. She points out where she went wrong without being......more

Goodreads review by Mona KB on March 18, 2022

Carolyn Birrell’s first book, Walking with Fay: My Mother’s Uncharted Path into Dementia, kept me glued to her frustrating, sad, helpless feeling, lonely, angry and enlightening journey through her mother Fay’s transitions with dementia, and eventually death. Carolyn’s experiences touched upon my ow......more