How dogs brought comfort and joy during life with ALS
I have a vivid and beautiful memory from a few summers ago, as my late husband, Jeff, and I lived with his ALS. We were spending a day on the water, as we…
Thunder Road — Juliet Taylor
Juliet lost her husband, Jeff, to ALS in 2020, 19 months after his diagnosis. Together Jeff and Juliet enjoyed being on the water, live music, pets, and traveling. She was his primary caregiver, and finds meaning and healing in helping individuals and families who are living with or have lost a loved one to ALS. Juliet lives with her rescue pup, Sailor, on the eastern shore of Maryland, in a home that Jeff chose because it reminded him of his beloved Green Lake in Michigan.
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Recognizing the signs of angels who walk among us
A few weeks after my late husband, Jeff, was diagnosed with ALS in 2018, we were sitting in our primary care doctor’s office to talk. We’d just received a second opinion confirming the…
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Holding on to happiness when sorrow arrives
My late husband, Jeff, made a dream come true for me. When I was a kid, my dad would take our family on our small powerboat to explore the waters near my hometown of…
Deciding when and what to share after a diagnosis of ALS
Like many in the ALS community, I was saddened to learn of the recent death of Bryan Randall, a photographer and the partner of actor Sandra Bullock. I respected that his…
Being an ALS caregiver changed my understanding of self-care
My brothers-in-law made me an incredibly kind offer while I was caregiving for my late husband, Jeff, as he was living with ALS. They offered to spend a long weekend in January…
The best cup of coffee I’ve ever had
Throughout our relationship, my late husband, Jeff, was the partner who most enjoyed taking care of people and things. He built wooden furniture and personal gifts, tended to flowers, and prepared meals from scratch.
Finding ways to stay close to those we’ve lost to ALS
Green Lake, in northern Michigan, is verdant and peaceful. Evergreen and aspen trees grow right to the water’s edge, and the shores are dotted with summer cottages and a smattering of small docks…
What Lou Gehrig taught us about life, decades after he died
The first text message my late husband, Jeff, ever sent me was just one word. We’d had our first date the previous evening, and our dinner at a sidewalk restaurant on a mild autumn…
Why last week was special in the ALS community
I love inspirational quotes and sayings. Throughout my life, I’ve stumbled upon passages from books or snippets of speeches from public figures and recognized them as a helpful way for me to understand or…
What the month of May now means to me
May has always been my favorite month of the year. Here in Maryland, the trees have filled in with lush green leaves, commercial crabbing boats have begun to quietly travel my small creek in…
What friends taught us during life with my husband’s ALS
Making and keeping friends did not come naturally to me in childhood. I was shy, and my introversion and love of books often kept me curled up on the couch reading while…
How being outside improved our emotional health in life with ALS
When my late husband, Jeff, and I were living with his ALS, we were both drawn to spending time outside. While this wasn’t all that different from our life before ALS,…
Running on faith: How embracing a challenge gave me perspective
On a bitterly cold morning in New York last weekend, I woke before the sun and walked through the empty city streets to the Times Square subway station. From there, I caught a train…
