Barbara and Jerry Whitman had been married 40 years when a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease changed their lives forever.

“I didn’t expect it,” Barbara said.

She became Jerry’s full-time caregiver for the next 12 years, until his death in 2017. During that time, she kept a journal in which she documented day-to-day moments, the illness’s effects on her husband and the changes she witnessed in herself along the way.

“There were things that were fun and would tickle me and I would laugh, but then there were other things that weren’t so nice,” Barbara said. “I would find that I would get angry sometimes and I didn’t like that. I kept telling myself that he can’t help this, he can’t help it, but I had the emotion anyway.”

Toward the end of her journal-keeping, her work became a letter to other caregivers. She showed it to a hospice nurse who convinced her it needed to be published.

On Oct. 11, she’ll appear at Athens-Limestone Public Library to share the finished book, “In My Shoes.” Kindred Hospice workers will also be there to discuss their experiences caring for people with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

The free event begins at 6 p.m. and is open to the public. Barbara will have copies of her book available for purchase. She said she hopes those who read the book will realize it’s OK to forgive.

“I want the caregiver to know there will be these changes … in their emotions, their frustration, their anger at times,” Barbara said, “and how they need to realize those are just normal, human-experience feelings, and they are things you need to forgive yourself for.”

“In My Shoes” is self-published through LifeRich Publishing, a trade name of Reader’s Digest. It can be found online on www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and www.liferichpublishing.com.

Barbara’s story will also be featured in the Fall 2018 edition of The News Courier’s “Faith & Family” magazine, available Oct. 26.