Without a Map: A Caregiver’s Journey through the Wilderness of Heart and Mind - Softcover

After growing up in small towns of New England and Wisconsin, Lisa Steele-Maley developed a strong connection to the affirming rhythms of wilderness living while working in the mountains and coasts of Alaska and Washington. She has always sought opportunities to help individuals and organizations cultivate healthy, responsible relationships in their human and natural communities. Lisa lives in an aging farmhouse on the coast of Maine with her husband, two teenage sons, and a handful of animals.

In Without a Map Lisa Steele-Maley invites us to pause, embrace our loved ones, and embrace the good that is in each moment as we come to accept the unknown together. Steele-Maley offers solidarity and hope, along with many examples of practical problem-solving, to anyone who is in a position to care for an aging parent or loved one. Her own walk with her father through the profoundly destabilizing experience of his illness and passing is recounted honestly, but Steele-Maley reminds us that caregiving can open us up to awe and reverence for the wonder that each lifetime really is. - Elizabeth Gibbons Capdevielle, Ph.D. University Writing Program, University of Notre Dame
Without a Map is an insightful and valuable description of what it's like to be the long-term caregiver for someone with dementia. Told with candor and wit, it's moving, enlightening, and a gripping account. I would highly recommend it for anyone caring for a loved one with dementia. - Barak Gaster MD, Professor of Medicine, University of Washington
As a reader, you get a true sense of Steele-Maley's evolution as she cares for her father through his dementia. Towards the book's conclusion, each line written is more significant than the next. In the end, the author's wilderness journey grants all of us with a panoramic view of life that honors the journey and not the destination. - Kimberly Luyckx, Reader Views
In this courageous and important memoir, Lisa Steele-Maley guides us into the art of gentle companioning. Through the wilderness of loving and letting go, she provides a map and a compass: Show up. Be present. - Sherry Flint, Inn Along the Way

Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist