The despair that befalls a family when one of its own is forever changed by illness or tragedy is an experience we can only hope to escape. A serious accident, stroke, terminal illness, or more can cause stress and sorrow that are often unbearable. But we don’t get to choose from a menu of life lessons. We simply wake up one day to them sitting on our plate. The question then becomes: What do you do?

Daybreak jogs, PTA meetings, church choir rehearsals, laughter, and family time-these were the basic ingredients of Robert and Theresa Lee’s life together. Then, at age forty-three, Theresa was diagnosed with ALS. With raw honesty and grace, Robert chronicles the inspiring story of his late wife’s twelve-year dance with the disease, his role as her caregiver, and the highs and lows ALS took their marriage through. A touching memoir filled with moments of lightheartedness, wisdom and simple humanity, readers will be uplifted by this brave couple’s tale of unconditional love and their ultimate message: You are not alone.

Life is a never-ending teacher of lessons. The question is, ‘Are we paying attention?’ In 2002, my life, which all along had been filled with many of these blessings-lessons-or blessons as I called them-presented the greatest challenge my family and I would have to face yet.

-Robert Lee, author