May 16, 2012

The Real Notebook



Six years ago my aunt had taken my grandmother and sister shopping.  On the way home she got lost and circled the same neighborhoods over and over.  A few days later she was diagnosed with dementia.  Up until two years ago my 75 year old uncle took care of her in their home.


She no longer recognizes anyone and can’t speak or eat on her own anymore.  Her food is a blended mess in a cup which doesn’t help her withering, bony body.  The once vivacious life of the party gone, replaced with a zombie.


            
 I shot her on the Alzheimer’s floor in Gracedale, a government sponsored home in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.  I captured the repetitive nature of her “life” and the important role my uncle still plays by visiting her every day at the same time.  This is the real Notebook, it’s not romanticized as Hollywood tries to portray it.  



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