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Guest Essay

By Patti Davis

Ms. Davis is the author of “Floating in the Deep End: How Caregivers Can See Beyond Alzheimer’s.”

In the photograph I’m sitting beside my father, a decorated Christmas tree behind us, as he looks at a picture book of horses. I had given it to him as a Christmas present, knowing that by his stage of Alzheimer’s disease, words got lost but images still made an impact. What you don’t see in the photo is that the rest of my relatives were there, too, which was unusual for our fractured family. It would be the last time we spent a holiday together. I don’t remember who snapped the picture, but I’m glad someone did.

Moments later, my father turned and looked at the tree. He had a puzzled look on his face when he turned........

© The New York Times