Only with the Heart
Revised, Updated, & Expanded; 12th Anniversary Edition

How far would you go in the name of love?

After a lonely childhood shuffled from foster home to foster home, after a lifetime of longing for a "real" family, Claudia believes she has found that loving, "happily ever after" family when she marries Sam. Not only does Claudia now have an affectionate and devoted husband, Sam, but in Sam's mother, Eleanor, Claudia finds the mother she has always dreamed of. Or so she thinks.

The portrait of the perfect family soon begins to crumble and fracture as Eleanor - and the rest of the family with her - descends into the nightmare of Alzheimer's dementia. As each terrifying, agonizing year follows, Claudia bears the burden of Eleanor's increasing dementia and loss of identity: violent & unpredictable emotional eruptions, physical attacks, protracted silences, incontinence, even suspected suicide attempts. Soon, the money saved for other projects, including children and family-businesses, is depleted taking care of Eleanor. Claudia loses her own business, and her marriage to Sam is suffering from the strain of his mother's care.

When Eleanor is found dead with a collection of empty pill bottles scattered around her bed, the previously unthinkable suddenly seems a reality, and Claudia is charged with murder. While on trial for a crime she insists she didn't commit, she begins to suspect that Sam may have helped his own mother commit suicide, yet is letting Claudia take the blame. 

ONLY WITH THE HEART is powerful, poignant fiction that moves with lyrical ease from domestic intimacy to medical & courtroom drama. Elegant and compassionate, this exquisitely crafted, suspenseful novel about the dreadful and far-reaching effects of terminal disease, especially Alzheimer's, explores our deep need for acceptance and family, as well as the difficult, complex character of love.

On the Recommended Reading List of Alzheimer's Chapters nationwide, this revised, updated, expanded; 12th Anniversary Edition includes discussion questions for groups, teachers, and students; as well as current medical advances in the field of Alzheimer's research & treatment.