Last August: Love in the Time of Alzheimer's

In August 2022, Joe Gulla believed he was witnessing his mother's final month. Mary Ann, in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, lay dying in the same Bronx hospice where she had once worked as Volunteer Director. What Gulla expected to be a final goodbye became thirty-one extraordinary days of unexpected connection, profound moments, and raw honesty about what it means to love someone through their dying process."Last August" unfolds as an intimate daily diary, capturing one crucial month in a longer caregiving journey with unflinching authenticity. Through music playlists that became the soundtrack to their conversations, hand-holding that developed its own language, and small rituals that anchored their days, Gulla discovers that his relationship with his mother is not ending but deepening. Even as Mary Ann's words fade, their communication grows more profound.Written in Gulla's distinctive fragmented style, the memoir mirrors the actual experience of processing grief and love in real time. Each day brings new revelations about connection, loss, and the surprising ways the dying continue to teach the living. From moments of unexpected humor—like Mary Ann trying to eat her pink blanket—to devastating tenderness when she wipes away her son's tears, "Last August" captures the full emotional spectrum of end-of-life caregiving.This is not a story about death, but about the fierce vitality of love in impossible circumstances. For anyone who has cared for a dying loved one, "Last August" offers the profound comfort of recognition: you are not alone in this sacred, difficult work. Read more