8. We Have to Live with Alzeimer’s
Alzheimer’s Disease is a public health problem of staggering proportions, and a personal tragedy for a good chunk of our population. (Around six million people have it in the United States.)
Even if we weren’t dealing with a pandemic, increasing poverty, unemployment, and a childcare crisis – the prevalence of Alzheimer’s is a loud call to band together and live more communally. Dementia can wreck a family. It’s that hard to deal with.
There is a character in my manuscript, “Someone They Can Trust” who has Alzheimer’s, and the story shows how a loving community can make life livable for the victims of the disease and for their caregivers.
One of three protagonists in the book is the main caregiver for her beloved Grandmother, who is found to have Alzheimer’s early in the story.
The character’s journey is not only about a descent from a devout and useful life; it’s a story about life going on and being full of graceful, sweet moments even in the midst of the disease. Those are what we can learn to create for each other.
That’s why I wrote this book.
Colleen, I think these blogs are really helpful in drawing attention to your book and spark interest and reasons to read it!
I don’t know that I’ve read any other book with a character suffering from dementia. But it’s such a prevalent disease in our time, we need such books! Thank you for including the sweet-but-terribly-forgetful grandmother in your novel. And kudos, Colleen, for showing accurately the slow but steady decline that characterizes Alzheimer’s, adding more and more responsibility upon the caregivers.
Thank you Nancy. Caregivers are in a marathon, and they so need people cheering them on,!
You wrote what you know, and sadly what so many others have experienced, and it shows.