Meet Gina Awad, author of UNITED: Caring for our loved ones Living with dementia

Oct 25, 2022 7:30 pm

Dear Friend of AlzAuthors,

I'm sure you all have favorite family recipes.

With Fall in the air, I like to warm up the kitchen. We eat a lot of soups as the cool weather creeps in. Mom's chicken soup is one of my favorites. Making Mom's recipes, the foods she prepared to nourish me when I was little, is a small way of celebrating her life and passing memories and stories of her on to future generations. Thanks for the memories, Mom, and also for the yummy soup.

Maybe you could post a photo of a family recipe on your social media and tag #AlzAuthors. We'd love to see your favorites!

Our Newest Author

Gina Awad, from Exeter, UK, along with her illustrator, Tony Husband, has written a unique, illustrated guide to dementia care, focusing on six families of diverse backgrounds through her new book, United Caring For Our Loved Ones.

Gina says:

On deeper reflection I recalled my early childhood experiences visiting care homes with my grandmother who partook in creative arts with the residents. As an 8 year old and over 4 decades earlier I remembered not the residents engaging with the arts but those that weren’t. Being a little girl my emotions were stirred and I felt a sense of isolation, fear and vulnerability coming from the residents who I now know were living with advanced dementia. I believe these strong emotions and my naturally empathic nature connected all those years ago with the people, and my study ignited them. This was the catalyst in my mission and sits at the heart of what I do and why I do it.

Click here to read Gina's essay.

Click here to retweet Gina's post:

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Our Latest Podcast

In this podcast, Renée Harmon, MD, author of Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer's shares her story of caring for her husband, Harvey, who had younger-onset Alzheimer's. This is the second in our 2022 Summer Book Series with HFC, recorded on July 12th and moderated by Christy Byrne Yates, MA. We discuss the important of acknowledging your vulnerability while caregiving, asking for and accepting help, why a good support group can make all the difference, and how to rewrite your script when dementia enters your story.

Start Listening!

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Congratulations!

Two of our authors recently won awards in the 3rd Quarter Firebird Book Awards. Leah Stanley's Goodnight Sweet won in the Caregiving category and Tryn Rose Seley's Fifteen Minutes of Fame won in the Inspirational Category. About The International Firebird Book Awards: The firebird is known as a magical helper and is believed to drop pearls from its beak when passing over peasant villages, to give the poor something to trade for food and other necessities. We hope, in some small way, we too can help others via the donation aspect of these book awards. The Firebird Book Awards & The Homeless Shelters Project: Entry donations support the women and children’s shelter renovation and transformation project, in conjunction with Enchanted Makeovers 501(c)3. We send handmade one-of-a-kind fun and colorful pillowcases and children’s books to homeless shelters.

Learn More Here!

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Coming Events

In our next AlzAuthors Live! Virtual Q&A Dementia With Difficult People on November 8 at 2 pm EST you will meet four of our authors who either cared for a parent who had hurt them in the past, or dealt with siblings who made caregiving difficult, or both. A professional mediator will also be on hand to offer advice on how to navigate a dementia journey with a difficult person.

Potential discussion topics:

Heeding the call to care
Reckoning with the past
Setting aside differences
Problems/issues encountered
Forgiveness
Building a support network without family

For more info visit our website.

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Our friend, Elizabeth B. Miller, of Happy Healthy Caregiver is kicking off National Family Caregivers Month by partnering with Happy Healthy Caregiver for the GOBS of GIVEWAYS Virtual Café.

This November 2 event from Noon-1:30 ET will be a FUN way to connect FAMILY CAREGIVERS with helpful resources like ours.

There are 27 event sponsors who are collectively giving away over $2k in products, services, and giftcards!

You must register via this Eventbrite link (by Oct 31 or before spots fill).

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The holiday season can be an especially trying time for dementia caregivers and those with dementia. Join Tami Anastasia, author of Essential Strategies for the Dementia Caregiver, for a free webinar, “Holiday Tips & Tricks for Dementia Caregivers,” Wednesday, November 2, 4-5PM PDT.

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Two AlzAuthors are featured in this live panel discussion: Ruth Stevens, author of Stage Seven, a novel, and Cindy Weinstein, co-author of Finding the Right Words, an invaluable guide for families dealing with a life-changing diagnosis.

Several other experts are included and will discuss the unique challenges faced by caregivers for adults living with dementia.

Hosted by the Peninsula Center Library, 701 Silver Spur Rd Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274

Ruth will present the gift of an AlzAuthors Custom Caregiver Collection to the library at this event.

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The Hudson Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association is hosting a virtual caregiver panel discussion on Tuesday, November 15 at 2 pm EST featuring three AlzAuthors: Daniel Kenner, Room for Grace, a Caregiver Memoir, Kate Hanley, Breakfast Memories: a Dementia Love Story, and Marianne Sciucco, Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer's love story and a co-founder and manager of AlzAuthors. The first half of the program will cover Understanding Alzheimer's and Dementia, hosted by Josh Deschino, a community educator for the Alzheimer's Association. In the second half the authors will discuss their books and the value storytelling can bring to a dementia journey. The event is free.

Or call 1-800-272-3900

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We can't wait to read your stories!

Check out these new entries in our storytelling project:

Mother's diagnosis: dress rehearsal for husband's.
Glad I documented her dementia phases.
Hospice was a lifesaver for me.
It's actually Tuesday; it doesn't matter.
Nothing would be the same again.
So much denial, but I knew.

Marianne Sciucco tells podcast host Lance Slatten all about our new 6-Word Memoir project in this All Home Care Matters podcast:

Watch on YouTube

Here’s how to share your six words on our topic:

1. Go to this link https://app.sixwordmemoirs.com/

where you’ll be prompted to login with a name/password/email.

2. Then go to Join Topics and use this code: a8tt44di OR

visit https://app.sixwordmemoirs.com/topic/a8tt44di/s

3. Share one or as many six-word stories as you like!

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AlzAuthors provides

Real Books

to Real People

in Real Places

Our stories connect us through shared emotions and experiences.

Custom Caregiver Collections are perfect for care facilities and dementia communities to support families who are entrusting a beloved elder to care.

Order a custom collection of 15-20 of our 300+ books to provide a hand to hold and light the path. We can help you honor or memorialize a loved one by attaching a custom engraved brass nameplate.

Inquire and order through this link: https://alzauthors.com/ccc/

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Treat Yourself to Something Nice for Fall

Start Shopping!

All sales support our mission to provide quality resources to family caregivers.

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Let's keep connected ...

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How to Support our Mission

Our mission is to provide quality resources for those concerned with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Please help by connecting with us in at least one new way this week:

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