Now Is What Matters

Janet Steward became caregiver for her husband when memory loss joined his list of chronic conditions a few years ago. This moving collection of poems not only documents a couple's journey, but they offer a source of insight, courage, and comfort. More than anything these poems teach us that the practice of love is a lifelong exercise, one that is rewarded with a beautiful, intimate dance for two.

"Like colorful strands of yarn threaded across a loom, the poems in Janet Steward's Now is What Matters stretch from loss to comfort and from grief to gift, weaving a rich tapestry depicting the full picture of caring for a partner suffering from memory loss. The constant thread-the longest and most vivid strand running through the poems-is love. We will swim in its ocean, Steward vows. Love, she states, will feed us for the rest of our lives. Steward bravely lives and beautifully writes poems of truth and wisdom. We are lucky to be warmed by the insight and courage of her words."

-Annie Lighthart, author of PAX