"My Father/My Husband" ~David J. Lawless

David J. Lawless, the author of "My Father/My Husband", is an author that I would consider less credible. It was extremely difficult to find much information on him, and it seems as though this essay is the most famous piece he has ever written. The essay is a story about his life nonetheless, and tells in great, repetitive detail the process that he went through every day to live with his wife's Alzheimer's disease. She has to take many medications, and has to be reminded multiple times a day that her husband is not her father. Throughout the essay, Lawless uses dialogue and repetition of phrases to help the reader better understand how difficult it is to live with someone with Alzheimer's. For example, "I am your husband" (206) is repeated at least five times throughout the story. That simple sentence had to be said a brutal amount of times in order for the reader to understand what the author dealt with on a daily basis. I also believe that he wanted to show the reader that although getting through a night with her was not an easy task, he was willing to do anything he could to stay with her, and to make her remember him. His wife tells him, "'Don't leave me, don't ever leave me." (204) Although confused and sometimes violent, she is a very vulnerable person and has to put all of her trust in her husband. Lawless also uses the emotional effect (pathos) to further connect with his audience. This helped him successfully get his point across. I noticed that no matter how angry his wife became when she did not believe her husband was, in fact, her husband, she never left him. I think she knew it subconciously. She only tried to prove him wrong. Because of this, I think the author wanted to prove that great love can overcome any disorder or disease. The dialogue used in the story provided a sense of realness for the reader, in that it was much easier to imagine the story happening. Lawless did a fantastic job of convincing the audience, which could have been almost anyone, that his life was tough, but out of love, he was willing to give everything he had. It left me wanting to read more.

                                                             Here Until The End
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