When, in 2013, my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I knew what it meant—he’d soon forget what he’d done or said to me over the years. In fact, he’d need my sympathy, perhaps my financial assistance, as his memory faded away. For a long time, I had wanted us to hash things out, to speak honestly about how we had hurt or disappointed one another over the years. But Daddy’s mind left like a dream at dawn. And now the encounter could happen only in my imagination.
