Lee Pelton, former president and CEO of The Boston Foundation and past president of Emerson College, has shared a deeply personal account of living with Alzheimer’s disease, detailing the progression of his memory loss and the impact on his identity.

Pelton, who retired in 2023, said he first noticed subtle signs of memory decline years ago, though at the time the lapses were minor and did not impair his cognitive functions or professional responsibilities. He attributed some early forgetfulness to aging and initially sought relief through over-the-counter supplements. However, more recently, Pelton described a pronounced deterioration in his short-term memory, characterized by a "descending opaqueness" that clouds recent experiences and creates a growing disconnect from his immediate past.

He recounted a trip to New York City where he was surprised to learn of a joyful family Christmas visit three years prior, a memory he could not retrieve. Pelton expressed the deep sadness and loneliness that arise from losing access to treasured personal histories and questioned how identity endures when one’s sense of a resonant past or hope for the future diminishes. “I ask myself, ‘Who am I?’ and the reply, with increasing frequency, is, ‘I don’t know,’” he said.

Despite these challenges, Pelton noted that prescribed medications have helped restore engagement with his world and strengthened his long-term memory, though inconsistencies between recalling distant versus recent events remain troubling. He described a paradoxical experience in which memories from decades past—such as reciting Middle English verses from Chaucer’s *The Canterbury Tales* or Latin lines from Virgil’s *Aeneid*—often resurface clearly, while short-term recall continues to falter.

Pelton underscored the stigma surrounding Alzheimer’s disease, which affects an estimated 57 million people globally and is the most common form of dementia. In the United States, about one in 10 individuals over 65 and nearly one in three over 85 live with Alzheimer’s, with two-thirds being women. He also highlighted that Black and African American adults face approximately double the risk of developing dementia compared to white adults. According to Pelton, stigma leads to negative stereotypes, social exclusion, and reluctance to seek help—issues he hopes to mitigate by promoting respectful language and person-centered care that recognizes retained abilities and preserves dignity amid disease progression.

Reflecting on his mother, who died of advanced Alzheimer’s disease, Pelton shared a poignant encounter during a 2015 visit when she briefly spoke to him with clarity despite her condition. He described the lessons she imparted—humility, gratitude, love, and kindness—as foundational to his character and enduring beyond the losses wrought by dementia.

Pelton concluded by invoking lines from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem *Ulysses*, expressing a resolve to continue striving and embracing life despite the challenges ahead. His personal account aims to bring awareness to Alzheimer’s’ profound effects while affirming the value of hope, identity, and connection in the face of memory loss. In 2024, Pelton was awarded the Harvard Medal, recognizing his distinguished contributions as an alumnus.