Still the End: Memoir of a Nursing Home Wife

“From 1993 to 2003 my husband Jeff had a suction tube a few feet from his bed…” So begins this memoir of spousal chronic illness after nursing-home placement, the long awaited sequel to DIRTY DETAILS (Temple University Press), the controversial book about chronic illness before nursing-home placement. In STILL THE END, the illness progresses to eating via feeding-tube to cognitive loss, resulting in verbal / financial abuse. The author argues that society’s attitudes and policies need changing, specifically concerning subtle dementia. In this sequel, Marion navigates other journeys: writing, publishing, new mathprof position, and the mental illness of one of the children. Her personality, interests, achievements, and activism resonate with insistence on being responsible — not only toward spouse, but children, friends, students, readers… and self.