The lights in Daddy's brain had been extinguished one by one, until at times he seemed to be little more than a potted plant, who sat in the sun for hours with his eyes closed. He still knew who we were, and he when we hugged and kissed him, he always said, "Thank you." He never initiated conversation anymore. The only answers he had to our questions were, "I don't know," or "I don't remember."
We didn't dream that some mad thunderbolt could pierce his brain and propel him into a fury of storytelling, urgent confessions, scientific theorizing, twisted reminiscence and vivid hallucinations. If you live to be over 65, it is very likely to happen to you, whether you have dementia or not.
