Riding the Elephant is a wild journey--funny, tender, and frightening at the
same time. Goff captures and delivers the fragile moments and the bold
outline of familial bonds and challenges. What a ride!
Catherine Van Noy, columnist |
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Beyond Forgetting: Poetry and Prose about Alzheimer’s Disease, ed. Holly J. Hughes (2009 Kent State Univ Press) has been awarded an IPPY
Silver Medal in the category of Aging/Death and Dying. One of its
chapters is excerpted from Diane Porter Goff's Riding the Elephant.
Congratulations to
Ms. Hughes and all of her contributors. |
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Riding the Elephant: An Alzheimer's Journey takes the reader into
a landscape where no one goes by choice, yet a place where five million
Americans reside. A memoir that traces the steps of two sisters and their
families as they accompany their mother into uncharted territory, it is a story
filled with pathos, humor, unforgetable characters and a glimpse into the
transformational power of the human heart. It provides guidance,
compassion and company to those who are walking similar paths.
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Click to purchase the printed book.
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Author: Diane Porter Goff
Publisher: Dreamsplice
Pub Date: January 2019
SECOND EDITION
ISBN: 978-0-9761559-7-3
LCCN: 2018963166
Soft Cover; 134 pages
Price: $13.98
An E-book of first edition is available from Amazon.com |
 Review from ForeWord Reviews (Nov/Dec 2009):
Diane Porter Goff, author and poet, eloquently shares her memories of the
frustrations felt in caring for her mother, the hurt that arises unbidden for
unknown slights that still have the capacity to wound, and the guilt over
thoughts that come unbidden. Readers will relate to the helplessness felt in
searching for knowledgeable, caring help and the inability to fully protect
“mama” from the outside world of cold examination rooms and nonchalant medical
providers. It isn’t all despair, though, as Goff also describes the undeniably
comical as well as the joy felt in never-forgotten moments spent in her mother’s
presence. Goff’s memoir leaves readers with an empathetic understanding of those
who are “riding the elephant.” Robin
Phillips, BSN, RN |
Review by Philip Lee Williams:
...in the end, one feels not depressed but genuinely ennobled for having
taken this journey with Diane and her mother. |
Feature Article in the Roanoke Times by Kevin Kittredge:
...the response has been very good. "Almost every day,
I get an e-mail or I get a letter. Someone has read this book,
and it's meant something to them." One thing people tell her,
she says, is that the book makes them laugh. The myriad heartbreaks
chronicled in Riding the Elephant are mingled with lighter scenes... |
Also from Diane Porter Goff
Click to purchase the printed book.
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"Her fragile little body sits upright in the water‚ legs stuck straight out like
a child’s. Mama has always liked her baths hot and now‚ with old age sitting in
her bones‚ she likes them even hotter. Steam rises. Rivulets run down the pink
tiles surrounding the tub.... " |
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