ESSAY | MENTAL HEALTH

Grieving the Living

Dementia means saying goodbye again and again

Photo by Kristina Tripkovic on Unsplash

The first time was maybe six years ago at a family gathering. She called my sister the wrong name — and not my name, either. A completely random one, with no context at all. She caught herself and made a joke. We were grateful to wave away the awkward moment and move on to other topics.