ABSTRACT
Until now, we have focused on the experiences of patients living with diverse neurodegenerative diseases and family members who helped care for them. Hardest to endure for patients were the progressive threats to their identity that accompanied their deteriorating health. Those who managed to forge new or modified versions of earlier identities within the constraints of increasing infirmity adapted much more successfully than those who did not. We also saw that family caregivers could be crucial in helping or hindering their relatives’ adaptations to the changing realities of these patients’ lives.
