Rosie Mankes’s mother has had dementia for ten years. She had to be transitioned into assisted living, and then into memory care. And little by little, Rosie has had to watch her mother go.

She recently wrote an article about this deeply troubling experience that more and more of us are going to have to go through. It starts like this:

I am watching my mother’s brain die, right before my eyes. During a recent visit, she said to me, “Please, Rosemarie, can you help me remember who my children are?” I held my composure and said, “Of course, Mom, let’s go through them. There’s Betty Ann, Tommy, Carl, and me.” She looked deep into my eyes and tried to repeat the names but couldn’t.

So, we did it again, and again, until her frustration and agitation seemed to settle. She said to me, “I’m so upset that I can’t remember things. How many children do I have, six?” I said, “You have four.” And then we repeated their names numerous times until she somehow felt soothed.

To learn more about Rosie and her work, visit rosiemankes.net.

To learn more about Rosie’s book, ‘Find Your Joy and Run With It’, visit rosiemankes.net/book

Rosie Mankes is a life coach, motivational speaker, and author of ‘Find Your Joy and Run With It’, a heartwarming memoir about overcoming her second battle with cancer, the transitioning of her mother into an assisted living facility, and the unexpected loss of her brother, all within one year.

Rosie’s recovery from these major challenges inspired her to become a life coach, in order to help people pull through significant adversity and life challenges. Rosie is a resident of New Jersey, where she lives with her husband.

She is the mother of two grown sons.