Kate has chosen to be very private about her diagnosis. She has not wanted to be treated differently because of it. She has only told one person about it, her dear friend, Ellen, who is now living in a memory care facility in Nashville. She hasn’t even wanted our children to know. For that reason, I have chosen to use pseudonyms for the two of us and everyone else who is mentioned. I have also changed the names of cities and other places like restaurants or events. The exceptions are the names of national or regional chains like Lowe’s or Panera and an occasional mention of a local restaurant or two in Knoxville. Nothing else has been fictionalized. Everything described is an actual one that Kate and I have experienced ourselves.
