The Helen Chronicles

The HELEN CHRONICLES is an annotated, chronological collection of blog posts that tell the story of a mother’s chaotic last few years under the influence of dementia, Alzheimer’s, paranoia, schizophrenia, delusions, and hallucinations. (If that says “family” to you, you’re in the right place.) The clang and shudder of the final rolling train wreck, presented in real-time dispatches through the eyes of an oldest son who tried to do the right thing out of love and duty at great risk to himself. One way or the other, Helen made it impossible for us to help her, as if she’d really moved on years ago and left us with her shadow. We all did the best we could, and this is how it happened. 


Includes lyrics to "Mother Don't Kill Me" song; a special epilogue, "The Untold Story of Helen's Capture;" and a bonus essay, "Juan del Llano and the End of Nearly Everything." Approximately 33,000 words, 20 photographs.