To the You Who Used to Be: Poems on Dementia
and Wholeness

by Patricia McKernon Runkle

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The poems in this lyrical collection trace a path from Patricia McKernon Runkle’s childhood to her mother’s young womanhood and eventual decline into dementia. They hold the sorrow of losing her to “the long silence of falling” and the wonder of a flawless presence amid the wreckage of memory loss. For even when her mother’s memory had seemed to vanish, she had flashes of lucidity when she was unmistakably herself. In To the You Who Used to Be, Runkle becomes a witness and companion as she explores loss and wholeness in the distilled wisdom of free verse and the crystalline brevity of haiku.

FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Death, Grief, Bereavement
POETRY / General

ISBN: 978-1-962082-55-6 (print; softcover; perfect bound)

LCCN: 2024948695

Released November 12, 2024 | Copyright 2024

58 pages

Author Biography

Patricia McKernon Runkle’s poems explore loss, healing, and the unexpected. Her memoir, Grief’s Compass: Walking the Wilderness with Emily Dickinson, received a Nautilus Book Awards Silver Medal for lyrical prose and was a finalist for the Rubery Book Award. In addition to memoir and poetry, Patricia has written and published songs and collaborative choral pieces. She holds a master’s degree in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School and values the quiet work of listening. She lives with her husband in New Jersey, and they cherish their two grown children.

Endorsements

“Having lost my mother to Alzheimer's and a dear friend to Lewy Body Dementia, I opened To the You Who Used to Be with anticipation. Patricia McKernon Runkle's poems brought immediate comfort and perspective, processing loss in a way that opens up a shared space for healing. I will return to these poems again and again, grateful for their beauty and grace. 
—Jean LeBlanc, author of Terrible Terrain: Poems Inspired by the Life of Lavinia Dickinson

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