Dance Me to the End
Alison Acheson
Marty, age 57, was given a preliminary diagnosis of ALS by his family doctor. Seven weeks later, the diagnosis was confirmed by a neurologist. Ten months and ten days later, Marty passed away.
From day one, Alison, Marty’s spouse of over twenty-five years, kept a journal as a way to navigate the overwhelming state of her mind and soul. Soon the rawness of her words harmonized to tell the story of Marty’s diagnosis, illness, and decline. Her journal became a chronicle of caregiving as well as an emotional exploration of the tensions between the intuitive and the pragmatic, the logical and illogical, and the all-consuming demands of being both spouse and nurse. Divided into short pieces, some of which reads as free verse, Alison’s words are at times profoundly intense and painfully private.
The composition of the intricate notes of a life in its final movements includes another stanza of the journal that became Dance Me to the End: the guiding of children grappling with the imminent loss of a parent, and the shifting roles of family, friends, and community—all of which add their own complex rhythms.
Dance Me to the End is an evocative memoir about the emotional impact of witnessing a loved one suffer from a neurological, degenerative, and terminal disease. This is a detailed account of grief, shock and pain coexisting with the levity, laughter and love shared with her husband and sons in those final months of Marty's life.
Author - Alison Acheson.
Narrator - Ellen Dubin.
Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Location:
United States
Description:
Marty, age 57, was given a preliminary diagnosis of ALS by his family doctor. Seven weeks later, the diagnosis was confirmed by a neurologist. Ten months and ten days later, Marty passed away. From day one, Alison, Marty’s spouse of over twenty-five years, kept a journal as a way to navigate the overwhelming state of her mind and soul. Soon the rawness of her words harmonized to tell the story of Marty’s diagnosis, illness, and decline. Her journal became a chronicle of caregiving as well as an emotional exploration of the tensions between the intuitive and the pragmatic, the logical and illogical, and the all-consuming demands of being both spouse and nurse. Divided into short pieces, some of which reads as free verse, Alison’s words are at times profoundly intense and painfully private. The composition of the intricate notes of a life in its final movements includes another stanza of the journal that became Dance Me to the End: the guiding of children grappling with the imminent loss of a parent, and the shifting roles of family, friends, and community—all of which add their own complex rhythms. Dance Me to the End is an evocative memoir about the emotional impact of witnessing a loved one suffer from a neurological, degenerative, and terminal disease. This is a detailed account of grief, shock and pain coexisting with the levity, laughter and love shared with her husband and sons in those final months of Marty's life. Author - Alison Acheson. Narrator - Ellen Dubin. Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Language:
English
Chapter 1
Duration:00:00:18
Chapter 2
Duration:00:00:53
Chapter 3
Duration:00:02:51
Chapter 4
Duration:00:03:34
Chapter 5
Duration:00:03:15
Chapter 6
Duration:00:01:56
Chapter 7
Duration:00:02:47
Chapter 8
Duration:00:06:38
Chapter 9
Duration:00:03:07
Chapter 10
Duration:00:02:04
Chapter 11
Duration:00:02:45
Chapter 12
Duration:00:00:36
Chapter 13
Duration:00:03:55
Chapter 14
Duration:00:01:24
Chapter 15
Duration:00:00:59
Chapter 16
Duration:00:00:20
Chapter 17
Duration:00:03:36
Chapter 18
Duration:00:00:28
Chapter 19
Duration:00:01:54
Chapter 20
Duration:00:03:38
Chapter 21
Duration:00:05:45
Chapter 22
Duration:00:01:44
Chapter 23
Duration:00:00:28
Chapter 24
Duration:00:02:07
Chapter 25
Duration:00:00:33
Chapter 26
Duration:00:06:01
Chapter 27
Duration:00:09:51
Chapter 28
Duration:00:01:59
Chapter 29
Duration:00:02:06
Chapter 30
Duration:00:01:20
Chapter 31
Duration:00:01:45
Chapter 32
Duration:00:06:17
Chapter 33
Duration:00:00:51
Chapter 34
Duration:00:13:16
Chapter 35
Duration:00:01:39
Chapter 36
Duration:00:00:29
Chapter 37
Duration:00:02:25
Chapter 38
Duration:00:06:41
Chapter 39
Duration:00:08:09
Chapter 40
Duration:00:14:18
Chapter 41
Duration:00:00:38
Chapter 42
Duration:00:05:01
Chapter 43
Duration:00:01:28
Chapter 44
Duration:00:08:58
Chapter 45
Duration:00:00:44
Chapter 46
Duration:00:01:55
Chapter 47
Duration:00:00:34
Chapter 48
Duration:00:05:06
Chapter 49
Duration:00:00:36
Chapter 50
Duration:00:00:40
Chapter 51
Duration:00:02:03
Chapter 52
Duration:00:02:21
Chapter 53
Duration:00:00:26
Chapter 54
Duration:00:06:51
Chapter 55
Duration:00:00:42
Chapter 56
Duration:00:09:29
Chapter 57
Duration:00:00:39
Chapter 58
Duration:00:02:46
Chapter 59
Duration:00:09:53
Chapter 60
Duration:00:02:43
Chapter 61
Duration:00:00:46
Chapter 62
Duration:00:02:35
Chapter 63
Duration:00:07:17
Chapter 64
Duration:00:04:51
Chapter 65
Duration:00:07:03
Chapter 66
Duration:00:03:32
Chapter 67
Duration:00:02:13
Chapter 68
Duration:00:00:25
Chapter 69
Duration:00:00:44
Chapter 70
Duration:00:02:11
Chapter 71
Duration:00:05:04
Chapter 72
Duration:00:01:27
Chapter 73
Duration:00:00:51
Chapter 74
Duration:00:08:50
Chapter 75
Duration:00:00:34
Chapter 76
Duration:00:03:22
Chapter 77
Duration:00:05:57
Chapter 78
Duration:00:01:16
Chapter 79
Duration:00:08:37
Chapter 80
Duration:00:19:32
Chapter 81
Duration:00:09:25
Chapter 82
Duration:00:12:45
Chapter 83
Duration:00:09:36
Chapter 84
Duration:00:02:51
Chapter 85
Duration:00:04:20
Chapter 86
Duration:00:03:23
Chapter 87
Duration:00:00:52
Chapter 88
Duration:00:05:01
Chapter 89
Duration:00:03:15
Chapter 90
Duration:00:00:58
Chapter 91
Duration:00:09:32
Chapter 92
Duration:00:00:36
Chapter 93
Duration:00:01:39
Chapter 94
Duration:00:05:24
Chapter 95
Duration:00:04:10
Chapter 96
Duration:00:01:42
Chapter 97
Duration:00:01:58
Chapter 98
Duration:00:04:05
Chapter 99
Duration:00:09:00
Chapter 100
Duration:00:00:21
Chapter 101
Duration:00:01:45
Chapter 102
Duration:00:01:25
Chapter 103
Duration:00:04:38
Chapter 104
Duration:00:01:20
Chapter 105
Duration:00:00:34
Chapter 106
Duration:00:02:06
Chapter 107
Duration:00:00:39
Chapter 108
Duration:00:01:57
Chapter 109
Duration:00:01:20
Chapter 110
Duration:00:00:25
Chapter 111
Duration:00:02:02
Chapter 112
Duration:00:01:29
Chapter 113
Duration:00:00:34
Chapter 114
Duration:00:04:33
Chapter 115
Duration:00:02:46
Chapter 116
Duration:00:01:01
Chapter 117
Duration:00:02:38
Chapter 118
Duration:00:01:20
Chapter 119
Duration:00:05:15
Chapter 120
Duration:00:01:29
Chapter 121
Duration:00:09:15
Chapter 122
Duration:00:00:48
Chapter 123
Duration:00:03:53
Chapter 124
Duration:00:00:35
Chapter 125
Duration:00:06:34
Chapter 126
Duration:00:00:34
Chapter 127
Duration:00:02:01
Chapter 128
Duration:00:00:37