I Live You For Ever: Dementia in a Loving Marriage
by Meredith Rutter Marple
This candid and penetrating memoir chronicles Meredith Rutter Marple’s nine-year journey caring for her husband, Gary, as mixed dementia reshaped the fabric of their marriage. What began as small slips—forgotten directions, mental-math errors—unfolded into a relentless progression of symptoms associated with vascular dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Lewy body dementia.
Drawing from her personal journals, Meredith captures the intimacy of conversations and the daily negotiations of love, anger, denial, and acceptance
between partners bound together by decades of shared life. With honesty and compassion, she illuminates the dual tragedy of spousal dementia: the gradual
fading of the ill partner and the parallel unraveling—and resilience—of the caregiving partner.
At once heartbreaking and hopeful, this memoir is both a testament to enduring love and a call to face the “what-ifs” of aging with courage and candor.
Praise For I Live You For Ever
In this memoir, Marple offers an intimate portrait of love reshaped by dementia.
Midwest book review
In this memoir, Marple offers an intimate portrait of love reshaped by dementia.
I Live You For Ever: Dementia in a Loving Marriage chronicles nine years of lovingly living with a spouse’s dementia, and is drawn from personal journeys Meredith Rutter Marple kept during the experience. As such, its intention is to capture the immediacy of dementia and “to give you a gut feeling for how our life morphed as we encountered his illness and lost our freedoms.” Unlike most look-backs at chronic conditions, Marple’s journals captured conversations and experiences as they were happening. Nothing has been embellished or re-imagined, making this true story much more impactful than most … sensitive readers, beware. That said, much is to be absorbed from the daily trials and
movement of time captured within these pages – more so than the usual account of living with dementia and decline. Perhaps most striking is the outline of freedoms taken for granted and lost during the process of continual adjustment and fluctuation, which outlines many dilemmas readers won’t expect:
[Her] insights make I Live You For Ever especially thought-provoking and attractive to anyone embarking on a similar journey. Most of all, it displays how love is maintained and retained in the face of vast changes – an effort which could prove a near impossibility without the guidance and experiences outlined in this book. This is why librarians and readers need to place I Live You For Ever ahead of many others about dementia. It’s both a “you are here” guide to daily interactions and regular adjustments and a blueprint for preserving love against all odds that offers rare glimpses into the process by which a marriage adapts but retains its foundation of love. Marple’s effort is brilliant, tear-inducing, and thought-provoking, all in one.
In this memoir, Marple offers an intimate portrait of love reshaped by dementia.
I Live You For Ever is a heartfelt memoir that explores the emotional journey of Meredith Rutter Marple as she cares for her husband Gary through the gradual progression of dementia. What begins as small, easily dismissed changes in memory and behavior soon turns into a life-altering diagnosis, forcing Meredith to confront the slow unraveling of the man she has loved for decades. Through detailed journal entries, she captures how their relationship evolves—from equal partners to caregiver and patient—while everyday moments like conversations and shared routines take on deeper meaning.
The memoir honestly portrays the exhaustion, loneliness, and quiet heartbreak of caregiving, yet remains grounded in enduring love and dignity. Gary is never defined solely by his illness but is remembered as a husband and companion whose essence lives on through Meredith’s words. While the narrative can feel repetitive at times, it reflects the reality of dementia and strengthens its emotional impact. Ultimately, the book serves as both a tribute to their shared life and a reminder to cherish memories and find strength in love, even in the face of inevitable loss.
—Lily King, author of Heart the Lover, Euphoria, and more
—Johanna Moran, author of The Wives of Henry Oades
—Kirkus Reviews
—Joe Hartman, PhD, retired Clinical Psychologist
—Jude Myers Thomas, Eden Alternative Co-Founder
Memoirs of difficult journeys often resemble applications for sainthood, with a casual wave toward the hard parts, and a tidal wave of martyred goodwill. Marple’s is a trustworthy account. She tells the story without wallowing, yet acknowledges the hardships, the strain, the fatigue, the mental gymnastics to make sense of that which may or may not jibe … all of those high alerts that kept her on the roller coaster … This memoir will live with me for a very long time.
—Jeanmarie A. Nielsen, retired Music Educator with recent MFA in Creative Writing, emphasis in Memoir/Personal Essay
[I Live You For Ever] is an honest and loving account of the author’s husband’s mixed- dementia journey and the toll the disease can take on the primary caregiver. Her devoted husband was a good father, respected by his coworkers and many friends. I enjoyed getting glimpses into their lives through personal photographs. The issues her husband struggles with include the loss of his independence, and his contributions to the workplace. The primary caregiver struggles with keeping her own sense of self, and finding the time to meet her physical, work, and social needs. I am filled with admiration for the way this couple kept their romance alive through mutual respect. Somehow, they never lost their sense of fun, and adventure.
—Cynthia Cook, author of What Really Happened to the Hat and the Gloves and What Really Happened to Marion and Candace
I Live You For Ever by Meredith Rutter Marple is a touching memoir about her steadfast experience caring for her husband with dementia. Through personal diaries, she shares the emotional journey of love and resilience amid the challenges of spousal dementia. This book explores the impact of caregiving and the enduring strength of marital bonds
with tenderness and grace. A remarkable testament to humanity!
—Sonja Koch, author of Bookends of Life
—Russell Gerney, author of The Methuselah Project
BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More
1. Even though the first possible sign of Gary’s oncoming dementia was in 2010, the added signs in 2011 and 2012 still seemed minor, the type that might easily be ignored. Nevertheless, author Meredith chose to include them as part of Part One’s umbrella heading of “Denials.” Why do you think she did that?
2. What would you say was the most difficult aspect of living with Gary’s dementia (either as Gary or as Meredith). Were there aspects you would have managed differently than Meredith did?
3. Meredith and Gary were fortunate to have long-term care insurance, and so the cost of caregiving was not a problem for them. They did experience both good and not-so-good caregiving assistance. What considerations had to go into finding good caregiving help? Comparing the good and the not-so-good caregivers, what did they do differently?
4. Meredith notes early in the book that she, like one of her fictional characters, has “a reluctance to ask for help.” What helped her overcome that reluctance as time with Gary’s dementia wore on?
5. Meredith and Gary both had to struggle with “loss of self” issues. What would loss of self mean to you personally?
6. Do you or have you personally known someone who has dementia? What form did it take, and how did you know the person? What were the difficulties you had with the experience?
7. What takeaways did you glean from Meredith and Gary’s story?


