The Granny Chronicles

"The Granny Chronicles: Learning to Speak Leopard," is a caretaker's memoir about the relationship between a mother, with dementia, and a daughter, and the life long language that over time changed. During their more fluid time together the daughter learned to live according to the mother's needs. The overall lack of boundaries and the need for the daughter to be separate in order to become an adult fostered distance in miles for twenty years. The mother developed dementia and when she could no longer manage her life well enough to pay her bills and manage her health issues, the daughter took her to live along side her. The path is not uncommon for many families. What makes this memoir different is the complex relationship they had during the daughter's childhood. The mother looked to her daughter to protect her from her alcoholic husband. She kept the daughter focused on her own life for her needs when the daughter desired to be free from the complexities of the family. She wanted to live a shame free life but was pushed under the tent of the mother, the better of the two parents, not knowing as a child how to get out. Today, in this memoir, Author Kareena Maxwell gets to live and let go. She shares the story so that others can read it and understand that they are not alone if they are going through the same thing. Maxwell encourages us to also laugh at the unchangeable behaviors and to adore the old family member in their final, and sweetest journey.