Caught in the Current brings to life a deeply human perspective on a misery that touches many families as they move into the final chapters of life. Told through the alternating voices of Besse deBruyn and her granddaughter, Cat, the novel unfolds as an achingly honest, and at times quietly humorous, multi-generational narrative.
Together, they bear witness to Besse’s gradual descent into dementia, a journey marked by memory, loss, tenderness, and moments of unexpected grace.
Beyond the bond between grandmother and granddaughter, Caught in the Current chronicles a family’s collective struggle with the disease, the strain it places on relationships, the differing ways each person responds, and the emotional distance that grows as recognition begins to slip away. As Besse drifts backward into a world increasingly governed by memory, she fears becoming untethered, carried by recollections that no longer belong to her but seem to possess her instead. Cat, watching from the outside, is caught between hope and heartbreak, witnessing her grandmother retreat behind a door she cannot open. Compassionate, unflinching, and deeply moving, Caught in the Current is a story about love, identity, and what remains when memory begins to fade.