The Long Dying

Seventy-seven-year Maggie Campbell is stricken with dementia. This is the story of how her proud, independent way of life is inexorably eroded until she finally finds herself completely dependent on others. It is also the story of how her two sons: Scott and Ian suddenly have to shoulder the burden of their mother's care, while at the same time dealing with their own shock and grief. When Maggie is moved to Scott's home in Fredericton, Beth, his wife, becomes her mother-in-law's caretaker. Because of Maggie's inability to accept needed help and Beth's rigidity, the situation gradually becomes untenable, and Maggie is placed into three, separate institutions, resulting in more pain and confusion. The story is complicated by the fact that Ian, Maggie's younger son, although very devoted to his mother, is not close to either Scott or Beth. Although, this is a sad, sometimes heart-breaking story, it is often lightened with humour and glimpses into Maggie's rich past as a Saskatchewan woman coming of age during the forties and fifties.