More than seven million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly 12 million family members and friends provide unpaid care — offering more than 19 billion hours of support each year. Behind these numbers are relationships, routines, grief, adaptation and love.
On this episode, Ben Kieffer sits down with Volker Thomas and Edie Pierce Thomas of Iowa City to explore what Alzheimer’s feels like from the inside.
Volker is a retired professor and former president of the American Family Therapy Academy who spent decades building couple and family therapy programs at the University of Iowa and Purdue University. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2025, though symptoms first appeared in 2022. Edie, his wife, joins the conversation as his primary caregiver.
Together, they share their journey through diagnosis, daily life with dementia, the shifting roles within their marriage and the moments of connection and clarity that continue to anchor them. Their hope is to help reduce the stigma surrounding Alzheimer’s and deepen understanding of what families experience.
Guests:
- Volker Thomas, retired professor and therapist, living with Alzheimer’s disease
- Edie Pierce Thomas, primary caregiver
