From page 27:

The second week after they had moved in together, Deb put out a pork roast to thaw before she went to work.  She had asked her mother to put it in the oven while she was at work. When Deb got home that evening, the roast and potatoes were still on the counter, “Mother, why didn’t you put the roast and potatoes in the oven while I was at work?”  Estelle looked down at her hands in her lap and said, “I don’t remember how.”

 

***

 

From page 66:

“Mother is talking about things that are from her childhood and I don’t know if it’s real or fantasy anymore.

“Does it make any difference, in her life or yours, if she slips in and out of the past/present of her mind?  She’s not there, Deb, in the sense that you remember her.  She can’t understand what you want from her anymore.  This is hard, Deb, but it’s reality.”

 

***

 

From page 83:

“You can’t conquer the world for Estelle anymore, Deb. You have to go on with your life. Estelle could go fast like Olivia or she could last for years. What happens in your life from now on is up to you. You have to create a life for yourself again, and let the nursing home take control and do the job they are hired to do. There have been caregivers before you that have died before the parent. Have you ever thought about that happening?”