Heartbreaking but never sentimental, Williams-Paisley’s book offers an intimate look at a family’s struggle with a life-altering disease. It is also a daughter’s tribute to the mother whose disease offered her a new opportunity to ‘love unconditionally…and practice being comfortable with…[the] uncomfortable.’ A simply told, moving memoir.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Kimberly Williams-Paisley has written a book that is both heartbreaking and essential. I loved it for all the love it contained but also for the wealth of practical information. The Williams family went down a hard road with dementia, and we can all benefit from their experience.”
—Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Bel Canto and State of Wonder
“The relationship between a mother and daughter is one of the most complicated and meaningful there is. Kimberly Williams-Paisley writes about her own with grace, truth, and beauty as she shares her journey back to her mother in the wake of a devastating illness.”
—Brooke Shields, New York Times bestselling author of There Was a Little Girl
“Kim’s story really resonated with me, as it will with countless others. Her beautiful, heartfelt book is an absolute must-read for mothers, daughters, and anyone dealing with a loved one living with dementia. It will also help to bring comfort to families facing any type of life-altering situation.”
—Robin Roberts, Good Morning America
“Where the Light Gets In is simply wonderful . . . and sad . . . and brave. This book will bring comfort to families who are experiencing the complex and confusing journey of progressive dementia while still celebrating moments of true joy. Williams-Paisley’s narrative and the resource section will help people know they are not alone.”
—Angela Timashenka Geiger, Chief Strategy Officer, Alzheimer's Assocation
“Generous, human, and healing; that’s what this book is. Kimberly Williams-Paisley has invited us into her life and her family so that we may know ourselves better. By sharing her story with such vulnerability and honesty, she makes it accessible to everyone, with or without a personal connection to dementia. Through it, I had the experience of seeing my own family differently, understanding my desire to love more, and connecting deeply to my own stories of illness, grief, compassion, empathy, and redemption.”
—Connie Britton, Actress
“Where the Light Gets In left an indelible mark on my heart. The story of love and acceptance and the unbreakable bond of family, this book will be a comfort to so many families who are going through what Kim’s went through and will be a much-needed source of strength for all those who read it.”
—Sheryl Crow, Musician
“Informative, relatable, and heartbreaking, Where the Light Gets In is a must-read for those who have a loved one struggling with dementia.”
—Seth Meyers, Host of Late Night with Seth Meyers
“Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s experience with her mother’s dementia is very moving, and you’ll be touched by so much in this book. This topic needs national attention, and Where the Light Gets Inhelps bring focus to that need.”
—William Shatner, Actor
"In Where the Light Gets In, Kimberly Williams-Paisley shares the brutal emotional toll that dementia takes on a family, bravely revealing the denial, the missteps, the losses, the grief. Thankfully, she also shares the lessonshow to get comfortable being uncomfortable, how to connect with her mother where she is, how to love unconditionally. Intimate, honest, and beautifully written, this book will be a tremendous resource for anyone affected by dementia."
—Lisa Genova, New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice
"Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s honest and heart-wrenching memoir draws a stark picture of the devastation of dementia on a family and captures the sense of injustice when the parent/child role is reversed far too young. Kimberly shares her story to honor her mother, but she galvanizes us to find a cure for a disease that slowly erases the ones we love most."
—Lee Woodruff, journalist and New York Times bestselling coauthor of In An Instant
02/22/2016
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. (Apr.)
2016-01-26
An actress tells the story of how her mother's dementia changed their relationship and affected their family. When Williams-Paisley discovered that her mother, Linda, had a rare form of dementia called primary progressive aphasia, she had no idea how much the disease would impact her life. The mother she knew growing up was warm and exuberant, and while the author drifted away from her during a period of teenage rebellion, she always knew that Linda—who firmly supported her daughter's desire to become an actress—had only the best of intentions. Adulthood and acting success brought Williams-Paisley closer to her mother, who by that time had found her own career success as a fundraiser for nonprofit organizations. But the author's marriage to country star Brad Paisley created distance between them. The rift soon healed, but that Christmas, her parents revealed to Williams-Paisley and her siblings that Linda had been diagnosed with early-stage dementia. In the year that followed, Linda's life began to unravel. First came early retirement from her job, followed by increasing problems with memory and speech. Most painful of all were the behavioral changes that transformed a once-vibrant woman into an unpredictable, at-times violent monster no one recognized. Terrified of "New Mom," who needed "to be treated with care and caution," Williams-Paisley feared for the safety of her children as well as the well-being of her father. Only after she had worked past the trauma of seeing a loved one transform so completely and the guilt at not being able to offer more assistance was she finally able to make peace with who her mother had become. Heartbreaking but never sentimental, Williams-Paisley's book offers an intimate look at a family's struggle with a life-altering disease. It is also a daughter's tribute to the mother whose disease offered her a new opportunity to "love unconditionally…and practice being comfortable with…[the] uncomfortable." A simply told, moving memoir.