Astrid Lindstrom shares the joys and the travails of caregiving for a loved one with cancer in “Cecelia.” Lindstrom will talk about her book on Friday, May 17, at 5:30 p.m. at Cancer Connection in Northampton.

Cecelia is subtitled “A Memoir of Lesbian Love and Loss.” Lindstrom weaves the love and the loss together in alternating chapters. She uses the past tense to describe her early life; her coming out as a lesbian; and her courtship of — and eventual marriage to — Cecelia Scott, known as Cece, in middle age.

Lindstrom uses the present tense, which intensifies the emotions involved, to describe Cece’s diagnosis with cancer, multiple treatments, and death, along with changes and challenges to Lindstrom’s life after she loses her love.

I have been a caregiver to a terminally ill family member, but I never had to go through what Lindstrom experienced. Her story details the many obstacles the disease presents to their lives together.

It also details the love and support the two receive from others: medical professionals, family members and friends.

They struggle to make their time together as rich and normal as possible, traveling when Cece’s health permits it, and listening to the music and poetry they have shared for years as a couple.

Lindstrom details not just the emotional toll the disease takes but also the financial one. As Cecelia gets sicker, she is forced to cut back on her work. Lindstrom herself tries to go to work teaching but often has no choice but to stay home and take care of her spouse.

The illness also adds to Lindstrom’s chores on the home front. As the partner who cares most about having a clean house, she has always been the person who tidied things up. She adds to her own tasks those Cece performed when she was able, like cooking and shopping.

After Cece dies, Lindstrom takes on another caregiving role as the pair’s elderly cat also moves toward the end of its life. The death of a beloved pet is hard for anyone. It is particularly hard for someone who has recently lost a human companion.

Despite these deaths, Lindstrom squares her shoulders and goes on with her life. She plans services for Cece, does the best she can at work, spends holidays with friends and family, and even begins dating again.

She is buoyed by memories of her time with Cece and by the love that surrounds her. All in all, “Cecelia” is a sweet book with an inspiring message for caregivers.

Lindstrom will read from “Cecelia” on Friday at Cancer Connection. She will be accompanied by Vivien Weiss, a counselor at Cancer Connection who worked with both Scott and Lindstrom. Weiss wrote a forward for the book and will read from her contribution.

Books will be for sale at the reading, with a portion of the proceeds going to Cancer Connection.

Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.