Fade to Black: A Memoir

David Yerks-Young watched Alzheimer's slowly take his father away.

But Fade to Black isn't only the story of losing him.

It's the story of a father and son who didn't always understand each other, the years that changed their relationship, and the unexpected bond they found before Alzheimer's began taking away the man David was only beginning to know.

Together, they faced the changes the disease brought?the confusion, the difficult decisions, the moments of humor, and the gradual disappearance of a father who had once seemed permanent.

Decades later, at seventy-four, David began noticing changes of his own.

Losing his balance. Losing track of things. Getting lost in places he knew.

Then came the tests.

And an unsettling possibility:

After traveling this road once with his father, David may now be standing at the beginning of the same road himself.

Only this time, his father isn't here to travel it with him.

Fade to Black is a memoir about fathers and sons, Alzheimer's, forgiveness, family, and discovering that sometimes the person you spend a lifetime trying to understand is the person who ultimately helps you understand yourself.

• • •

I blamed things on age until something happened that I could no longer explain away. So I asked.

I still don't know what's causing the changes I've been experiencing. Maybe it's part of getting older. Maybe it's something that can be treated. Maybe it's something else entirely.

But I wanted answers.

That's why this Postscript has become more than just my story. I think it's a story many older people can understand. We forget something, lose our balance, become confused, or do something that doesn't make sense, and it's easy to say, "I'm getting old."

Sometimes that may be all it is.

But what if it isn't?

I noticed changes. I stopped automatically blaming them on age, and I started asking questions.

Whatever the answers turn out to be, I'm glad I asked.