An extraordinary love story, "Wife Just Let Go" were the last words written by Robert Briggs to his wife, just before he passed away from Alzheimer's. A publisher, literary agent, author, who felt the influence of the Beat era deeply, Robert's love of literature, poetry and jazz, never faded. Even in his later stages of Alzheimer's disease, Robert was able to share insights into what he called "the power of aging," and his love of poetry, jazz and Zen. In Wife, Just Let Go, Robert is quite alive, even as his memory fades – but not his sense of humor. In its entirety, this book is a poem about love – about young love, middle-aged love, and love that endures the profound changes of Alzheimer's and on into the loneliness and mystery of death. What began as a promise to publish his last works, evolved in this duo-memoir, where his wife, Diana, as his long time partner and primary care-person, found herself joining him as a way to introduce his essays and poems. Her practices in Zen and the Way of Tea, provided solace and relief as she witnessed each day, the wrenching loss of her husband's memory and finally his death. Diana brings a perfect balance to Robert's essays and poems with a more meditative commentary as she examines her own path of pain, grief, and illumination as a care-person. Poignantly written yet unflinchingly honest, the book shares a way to navigate the waters of grief and loss where one may experience the other side of Alzheimer's – gifts that a patient imparts that continually sustain and inspire loved ones left behind.

Wife, Just Let Go is the Award-Winning Finalist in the Self-Help: Relationships category of the 2018 Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest.

"An intimate portrayal of love and loss. Discovering the core of our existence where we find healing, peace, and compassion. For caregivers everywhere, whether dealing with the disease of Alzheimer's, cancer, or any other terminal illness, this book shares deep insight and ways to help with the care of a loved one, family, or friend. Even in the last stages of an illness, there are gifts a patient imparts that continually sustain and inspire loved ones left behind." Kenneth R Pelletier, PhD, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California School of Medicine (UCSF), San Francisco, author of Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayer.

"The words 'Zen' and 'Alzheimer's' are seldom paired. Zen, representing supreme awareness, and Alzheimer's, associated with loss of awareness, would seem to have little to do with each other, but just as all opposites dissolve in the truth of non-duality, this volume bears touching testimony to how presence in the now is available at any moment in any state. Part autobiography, part biography of a remarkable man, Robert Briggs, this book is also a dialogue in poetry and an extraordinary love story. It affirms love and life while remaining clear-eyed and honest about the suffering entailed in love and life. Diana Saltoon toward the end of the work states that she found her husband's acceptance and curiosity in the face of his deteriorating condition, "humanly noble and inspiring." This reader found those words a fitting summation of the entire book. Reading this book expands one's experience of what it is to be human in the best sense of the word." Sonja Arntzen, Professor Emerita, University of Toronto, author of Ikkyū and the Crazy Cloud Anthology and Kagerō Diary.

Spécifications