Phil Gilman Mcgourty

Two Yellow Slickers: an Alzheimer's Memoir Phil Gilman Mcgourty

Publisher Marketing: "Two Yellow Slickers" This Memoir is a love story about a couple that walked hand-in-hand over the thirty-nine years of their marriage. In this book you will be privy to those happy years when their family grew from two people to six people, and to the times when they were privileged to travel to historic and exotic places abroad. Several years after the husband's retirement their lives changed dramatically when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. For the first thirteen years of his illness his wife cared for him in their home. During the last two years of his life he was a patient at the Brattleboro Retreat, in Vermont. These were challenging years for this couple. Yet, throughout his entire illness the husband continued to demonstrate his reliance on the Good Shepherd, and to show his love for his wife, for his family and for his close friends, and to joyfully receive the love they gave to him. Over those years the author learned a great deal about suffering, humility, humor, faith and love. She also came to appreciate the support she received from the Good Shepherd. The author hopes that when her readers have finished the book they will have enhanced their sense of compassion and empathy for those who suffer, and their understanding of how their presence can alleviate a patient's sense of isolation.