Be With

Be With: Letters to a Caregiveris what its title promises: four dispatches to an anonymous long-term caregiver. In brief passages that cast fresh light on what it means to live with dementia, Barnes shares trials, insights, solace and, ultimately, inspiration.

Meant to be a companion in waiting rooms, on bus routes, or while a loved one naps,Be Withis a dippable source of clarity for harried readers who might only have time for a few lines or paragraphs. Mike Barnes writes with sensitivity and grace about fellowship, responsibilityand joyful relatedness what it means to simplybe withthe people that we love. (From Bibloasis)

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Why Mike Barnes wrote Be With

"Over the last few years I've met a lot of people dealing with relatives that have dementia. Each one of them has a different situation but nobody gets off easy that's for sure. It so easy to overestimate how capable the person still is. You're trying to still give them their autonomy and that can lead to a lot of errors at first because you're just trying to let them live a full life.

I wanted to claim back something for myself because I felt like it was eating me alive and if I could write about it, that would at least be a corner that was mine.- Mike Barnes

"I also filtered the book down to the essentials: I wanted to convey not the whole experience of caring for someone with the disease, but just winnowed down to some nuggets they can take away. I wanted to write something about what I was experiencing with dementia and caregiving. It was such a powerful experience. I wanted to claim back something for myself because I felt like it was eating me alive and if I could write about it, that would at least be a corner that was mine."

Read more in his interview with CBCBooks.

Interviews with Mike Barnes