Book Recommendation: ‘Sacred Moments’ by Lee LeVoy

Recommended by CHRISTINA JOHNSON, branch manager, Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Library

As a librarian and a caregiver, I found that choosing the ideal book to highlight during April – which is both National Poetry Month and Parkinson’s Awareness Month – was easy because Sacred Moments: One Couple’s Walk with Parkinson’s is a blend of both. 

Like a diary, this 2022 poetry collection by local author Lee LeVoy documents moments along her journey as a caregiver for her husband, Hugh, during his experience with Parkinson’s. She chronicles the disease from its beginning through Hugh’s end of life, shares real experiences from everyday life as the disease progresses, and offers therapeutic poetry. 

Being a caregiver for my mom, who has Parkinson’s, I found that this book of personal stories resonated with my own experience, bringing both comfort and tears. Sacred Moments captures witnessing and living through the slow progression of Parkinson’s. 

The poems also explore community support, family, love, deep caring and how grandchildren – especially infants and toddlers – spark moments that can unlock the hold of the Parkinson’s mask through the medicine of intergenerational togetherness.