Just days after turning fifty, Martha Maddux, a spirited mother and civic activist, is told she has Alzheimer’s disease. She and her husband, Carlen, feel as though they’ve been shoved out of a plane 10,000 feet up, with nothing to grab but themselves. But A Path Revealed is not about the fallout from an insidious disease that extended nearly seventeen years. It is in Carlen’s words, “The story … story of a path emerging during our darkest hours, a path that we neither planned, nor foresaw.”
Carlen traveled with Martha to the backwoods of Kentucky, where the quiet presence of a Catholic nun revealed a hidden path. He was forced to slow down as he traced this path halfway around the world to Australia, retreated weekends to a monastery, embraced meditation, and landed all alone in Thomas Merton’s cabin.
A Path Revealed echoes accents heard in Anne Lamott’s Traveling Mercies, Richard Rohr’s Falling Upward, and John Bunyan’s 17th-century classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress.
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I was looking for more about his wife’s behaviors and caregiving than the husbands journey, otherwise very informative of his coping skills. I liked how the children handled their mother
This story was informative and inspirational because of the vulnerability of the author and his desire to help others from what he has learned in the process. The whole process of “death and dying” was vividly described; from his personal viewpoint, as well as his family’s. I highly recommend this book for everyone. My mother-in-law experienced a similar experience with this disease, and I truly never realized the pain my father-in-law had experienced until I read this book. Thank you for sharing it with us!
An honest and very personal account.
Thought provoking.
Written more for the caregivers. Have been there several times. It is important that caregivers take care of themselves physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Very interesting read
This was an amazing heartfelt book. The work that the family members did as they searched for understanding and comfort was phenomenal! Such a gift to all who read it as we all have areas and circumstances in our lives to live and survive. I would highly recommend this book!