Wednesday, September 27, 2017

AlzAuthors: World Alzheimer's Month eBook Sale & Giveaway!



September is World Alzheimer’s Month, the international campaign by Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) to raise awareness and challenge the stigma that surrounds Alzheimer's and other dementias. In recognition of this event, AlzAuthors has put together an eBook sale and giveaway!

Starting today through September 30th you can take advantage of this excellent opportunity to check out some of our books at reduced prices, ranging from free to $2.99. We offer a variety of genres, including fiction, memoir, non-fiction, and children's literature. Many of our books are also available in paperback and audio, so check them out too.

Our books are written from a deep place of understanding, experience, knowledge, and love. May you find one – or two, or more! – to help guide you on your own dementia journey.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

AlzAuthors: Candy Abbott - I’ve Never Loved Him More: A Husband’s Alzheimer’s, A Wife’s Devotion




By Candy Abbott

“Mom,” my daughter Kim said, “You know you’re going to have to write a book about how you’re dealing with Dad.”


I recoiled at the thought. It was all I could do to get through each day of unknowns and added responsibilities. “No, hon. I have to live this before I can write about it. I have no energy to think about ministering to others right now. Maybe after it’s all over—maybe then, I could think about writing—but not while I’m dealing with all this raw emotion. I’m still finding my way.”

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

AlzAuthors: Christina Britton Conroy, author of "How to Have Fun With Your Aging Parents"


 
By Christina Britton Conroy
When I was twenty-seven, my sixty-year-old mother died of cancer. I was left to care for my temperamental, over-controlling, eighty-year-old father. While grieving for my mother, I was also angry with her for dying young. Taking care of her elderly husband was supposed to have been her job, not mine.

Dad was bored, lonely, and wanted me to come over daily. I was a full-time musical theatre performer struggling to build a career, find a husband, and a start a family of my own. An aging father did not fit into that equation.

We had never had fun together, and I didn’t know what to do with him. I finally figured out that the only thing he enjoyed was talking about himself. I didn’t know it, but reminiscing with him was the start of my work as a Creative Arts Therapist.

Monday, September 11, 2017

What I Read on My Summer Vacation, Part Two



Summer is my favorite season, and my favorite activity during summer is catching up on my reading. This time, I have an extra large stack of books to get through because I picked up 25 additional titles at Book Con, some of my favorite authors recently published, and a number of titles about Alzheimer's and dementia are on my list because I'm an administrator for the AlzAuthors website. Here I'll share a few of the books that made me think, made me laugh, and /or made me wish that I had written them.

Gone: A Girl, A Violin, a Life Unstrung, by Min Kym

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

AlzAuthors: Lori LaBey, founder of Alzheimer's Speaks




By Lori La Bey, founder of Alzheimer’s Speaks

I have to admit caring for my Mother with dementia was not on my bucket list. In fact, the possibility never crossed my mind. Dementia crept into our lives slowly. Its visits were spontaneous and behavior changes subtle, giving me the perfect excuse to live in denial.

Mom’s dementia symptoms began our thirty-year journey down the yellow brick road. We were off to see the Wizard. Yet along the way, I found I had the answers I needed: acceptance, forgiveness, compassion, and unconditional love. All were tools my Mother taught me growing up. I also needed to acknowledge and embrace our new lives. You see, dementia was not just my Mother’s disease. It was “our disease,” hers, mine, and everyone she encountered. I found each of us has a choice on how we are going to
live with dementia.