Where the Light Gets In

February 22, 2016
In this moving yet disturbing memoir, actress Williams-Paisley shares the story of her life and tells of her mother’s struggle with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a brain disease for which there is no treatment or cure. The author, the eldest of three children, grew up in a close family. Her parents were initially both journalists; later, her mother went to work as a fund-raiser for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Linda Williams had always been her daughter’s “private applause section,” cheering her on from childhood belly flops at the pool to later acting parts (including her first major role in the Father of the Bride remake). In her early 60s, however, Linda begins to show disconcerting signs of memory loss, and is diagnosed with PPA in 2005. After Williams-Paisley’s marriage to well-known country singer Brad Paisley, the couple moves to Tennessee, but she remains involved in her mother’s life in Rye, N.Y., and as a “long-distance caregiver” struggles to lend support along with her father and siblings. Though they initially hope to keep the disease secret, it’s soon clear that the family needs outside help. Realizing that she has lost her “old mom,” Williams-Paisley moves beyond denial and grief to develop a surprisingly joyful bond with a “new” mother who eventually must be placed in a care-giving facility. This intimate memoir concludes with a resources section that will be helpful to families facing the devastation of dementia.