Pulitzer Center Celebrates the Strength of the Human Spirit

Country:

United states

Author:

Dana Thompson
Pulitzer Center Staff

An couple sits snugly together on a sofa in a dim living room

English

As dementia stole Lynne’s mind, her husband became her liaison to the world.

Multiple Authors

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Wayne Roberts reaches over and touches the shoulder of his wife, Lynne Roberts, as she gazes out a window in their home on August 24, 2023, in Butte, Montana. “I’ve been preparing for this for 13 years,” Wayne said while speaking about being Lynne’s caregiver. “She was nine years older than I was when I married her. I thought this might be something that I would have to do.” From the story "Softly Into the Night: An End of Life Love Story." Image by Joseph Scheller/The Montana Standard. United States.

Facing Obstacles with Strength, Determination, and Love

The life of Wayne Roberts in Butte, Montana, mainly involved two things: working and taking care of his wife, Lynne, who showed symptoms of dementia. In the Pulitzer Center-supported story “Softly Into the Night: An End of Life Love Story,” Montana Standard photographer Joseph Scheller follows Wayne and Lynne’s day-to-day life, capturing the couple’s highs, lows, and their final goodbye in 2024.

For a few years, my life was split between working for the Pulitzer Center and caring for my mother, Melba, who also battled dementia and a host of other health problems. Like Wayne with Lynne, my brother and I were by our mother’s side when she passed away in October 2023.

Caring for my mother 24/7 was the hardest thing I ever did. My brother helped me, of course. But it was a struggle trying to juggle my job, grocery shopping, my mom’s doctor appointments and medicine schedule, even housekeeping. But it had to be done, and because she lived with me, it was my job. However, I often beat myself up for not being better at it.

When I lost her, I experienced a mix of immense pain and a little relief: “I miss my mama, but at least she’s not suffering anymore.” That’s what I told myself. That’s what I still tell myself.

Wayne can relate. “I pray that … (Lynne) feels like I did enough, that I did the right things. Sometimes I don’t think so. Sometimes I think I could have done better,” Wayne writes in “Softly Into the Night,” my pick for our 2024 Year in Stories curation. Wayne’s loving words and Scheller’s compassionate photography reminded me that when it comes to someone you love, you will move mountains, or at least try to. It also reminded me I wasn’t alone: Dementia affects millions of Americans and their caregivers.

The Pulitzer Center is proud to support reporting that covers the biggest, most complicated issues of our time, from climate change to AI, and everything in between. But we’re also proud to support reporting that celebrates the indomitable human spirit: In addition to Wayne, there’s a mother who was determined to free her family from the grips of drug abuse; a left-leaning lawyer who worked to bridge political differences as she represented January 6 clients; and there are teens in a struggling Illinois town who beat the odds and are building bright futures, thanks to basketball. The list goes on.

The Pulitzer Center has made it our mission to “champion the power of stories” to spark positive change, and we will continue to do so in 2025 and beyond.

We hope you join us.

Impact

A recent Pulitzer Center-supported podcast series by The New Yorker has reignited scrutiny over the 2005 Haditha massacre, in which 24 Iraqi civilians were killed by U.S. Marines. The Marines involved avoided jail time. In a letter to the Department of Defense inspector general, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Van Hollen cite the New Yorker investigative work and demand answers about the department’s handling of alleged war crimes and the failure to take accountability. The letter was co-signed by Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs.

Listen to the reporting project, In The Dark.