Alice 101
by Peter D. Barnhart
As the body dies, a love is born.
Alice 101 is the personal account of a devoted son who documents with his camera and handwritten notes the physical challenge and the spiritual reward of caring for his 101-year-old mother at the end of her life.
The light within the darkness, or within the dementia of old age, is the love that emerges between these two contrary personalities, even as conscious communication between them fails and death draws near.
“Death is not a loss or separation,” states the author-photographer in retrospect. “It is bonding, beyond form, in peace and in love.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter Barnhart, a writer, photographer and artist, graduated from N.Y.U. with a major in English and a minor in fine arts. His writing career began in a New York City ad agency and moved from there to journalism, as a feature writer for the Ojai Valley News in California.
In 1980 he moved to Hunterdon, New Jersey to live with and care for his 80-year-old mother, Alice. Concurrently he wrote a children’s story about Alice and her pet duck, entitled The Wounded Duck which was published by Charles Scribner & Sons.
Since then he has produced and copyrighted several short works, combining his writings with his own photography and/or drawings.
“Art for me is really art therapy,” confides Peter. “I use it in these forms to express and share my personal growth processes in this journey through life.”
(2006, paperback, 56 pages)
As the body dies, a love is born.
Alice 101 is the personal account of a devoted son who documents with his camera and handwritten notes the physical challenge and the spiritual reward of caring for his 101-year-old mother at the end of her life.
The light within the darkness, or within the dementia of old age, is the love that emerges between these two contrary personalities, even as conscious communication between them fails and death draws near.
“Death is not a loss or separation,” states the author-photographer in retrospect. “It is bonding, beyond form, in peace and in love.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter Barnhart, a writer, photographer and artist, graduated from N.Y.U. with a major in English and a minor in fine arts. His writing career began in a New York City ad agency and moved from there to journalism, as a feature writer for the Ojai Valley News in California.
In 1980 he moved to Hunterdon, New Jersey to live with and care for his 80-year-old mother, Alice. Concurrently he wrote a children’s story about Alice and her pet duck, entitled The Wounded Duck which was published by Charles Scribner & Sons.
Since then he has produced and copyrighted several short works, combining his writings with his own photography and/or drawings.
“Art for me is really art therapy,” confides Peter. “I use it in these forms to express and share my personal growth processes in this journey through life.”
(2006, paperback, 56 pages)
