Chicago woman uses the stage to share painful moments from her life and raise awareness about dementia
More than 55 million people around the world are living with dementia. For caregivers, it's a journey often marked by exhaustion, isolation and incredible love. A Chicago area woman has turned her moments of sadness and joy into a one-person play, that gives back to those battling the disease.
In the one-woman play, "Running with Coffee," performer Eileen Byrne recounts some of the most painful moments while caring for her mother, Rosaleen, for seven years as she battled dementia.
Byrne portrays her mother all the way down to her Irish brogue, and recalls a time her mother was found walking along Sheridan Road at 4 a.m.
"I felt like such a failure," Byrne said. "It could have turned out so differently, but I bring that into the show because it's honest. It really happened."
The name of the play, "Running with Coffee," is a nod to what Byrne was actually doing each morning while trying to get things done. It's also about the 36-year separation between Byrne's mother and father.
"My parents were fighting over my mom's name being on their bank books," Byrne said.
Her parents separated when Byrne was 12. After nearly four decades apart, her father Joseph's decline with age and eventual illness and her mother's dementia diagnosis reunited the couple under Byrne's roof.
"God was answering my prayers in just a way I didn't expect," Byrne said.
What started as a personal story on stages in New York, Evanston, and Wilmette has made it to Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago with a purpose that goes far beyond the spotlight.
Byrne, a North Shore resident, is donating her proceeds from ticket sales to North Shore Senior Center in Northfield.
Byrne's parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2019 at Holy Name Cathedral, blessed by Cardinal Blase Cupich. Her mother passed away in 2021 at the age of 91. Her father died in 2023 at the age of 97.
Before their passing, Byrne was able to receive something she always wanted during her parents' 36-year separation.
"I had prayed for us to be a family, and my family was back with me," she said.
Now the memory of Byrne's parents lives on through her work on stage, and the lives she'll impact through her generosity.
"Running with Coffee" is at Lookingglass Theatre Company for two performances on May 16 and 17.