Caring for Mothers with Dementia: Three Sons Share Their Stories
Sep 02, 2025 11:31 pm
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Hello ,
Happy September! It's hard to believe summer is almost over and our Film Festival has begun. If you haven't heard about it all the details are below. We hope to see you at one (or all!) of our live discussions with the filmmakers.
In this newsletter we're proud to present the replay of our insightful panel discussion "Caring for Mothers with Dementia: Three Sons Share Their Stories."
This event shone a light on the experiences of male caregivers—often an overlooked group in the dementia journey. Hosted by Marianne Sciucco and Christy Byrne Yates, the discussion featured David Bredbenner, Vincent Zappacosta, and Alfredo Botello, three sons who stepped into caregiving roles for their mothers with dementia.
Panel Highlights:
- Breaking Stereotypes: While caregiving is often associated with women, our panelists reminded us that 40% of caregivers are men. Each shares how they answered the call to care—sometimes out of necessity, sometimes as the “natural go-to,” but always out of love and duty.
- Lifestyle Adjustments: The sons discuss the upheaval caregiving brings, describing it as becoming a parent to your parent, being on-call 24/7, and learning to embrace new routines and responsibilities.
- The Emotional Journey: Guilt, regret, humor, and love are recurring themes. The candid conversation unpacks the emotional complexities of being a son-caregiver and the importance of forgiving oneself.
- Writing as Healing: All three guests reflected on the challenges and rewards of writing about their journeys—how sharing their stories became an unexpected gift for themselves and others.
- Advice for Others: Their parting words to fellow caregivers? Ask questions, know your loved ones, be flexible, and always take what the 'defense gives you.' Remember: you are not alone on this journey.
You may catch the replay on one of our many podcast channels or watch it on YouTube. Please like the podcast, leave a review, and follow AlzAuthors so you never miss an episode. Thank you!
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In Case You Missed It . . .
Caregiving isn’t always a storybook journey, especially when family ties are already frayed. In this candid, emotionally charged episode from Untangling Alzheimer’s and Dementia, August’s Featured Author Jennifer Sullivan shares her raw and inspiring account of caring for her mother with Alzheimer’s through complicated family dynamics, financial crises, and the unique heartbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her book, When the Window Closes: What I learned caring for my mom while she was alive and dying is a gripping account of forced separation, window visits, and the heartache—and hope—of loving at a distance. Jennifer and hosts Christy Byrne Yates and Jean Lee explore how dementia can shift family roles and reveal unspoken truths, the unexpected gifts that can emerge from even the most difficult relationships, and the importance of self-compassion on the caregiving journey.
The podcast is now live on iHeartRadio and Pandora (download app)!
You can also hear it here. Please like and subscribe to it and leave a review. This helps others looking for dementia info to discover our wealth of resources.
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Our Film Festival has Begun!
Please join us for our first ever Film Festival featuring 5 talented filmmakers. Get the details here and register to receive the links to watch each fim at your own leisure. Then, join us for live discussions with each creator. Here's the schedule:
- September 8: Mary Crescenzo, "Planet A"
- September 22: Susie Singer Carter, "No Country for Old People"
- October 6: Frank Silverstein, "Lousy: Love in the Time of Dementia"
- November 10: Kitty Norton, "Wine, Women, and Dementia"
- December 8: C. Nathaniel Brown, "The Present"
All discussions are at 2 pm EST.
Marianne and Christy visited several of our favorite podcasts to discuss the Film Festival. You can listen here:
- Love Conquers ALZ with Susie Singer Carter and YouTube
- Fading Memories Podcast with Jennifer Fink
- AlzSpeaks Radio with Lori LaBey
- Caregiving Connections with Linda Burhans
- All Home Care Matters Podcast
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2025 New Authors, Podcasts, and AlzAuthors Live! Virtual Events
9/8 - Film discussion with Mary Crescenzo and "Planet A"
9/17 - Podcast with Mary Crescenzo
9/22 - Film discussion with Susie Singer
Carter and "No Country for Old People"
9/30 - Podcast with Susie Singer Carter
10/7 - New Author TBA
10/6 - Film discussion with Frank Silverstein and "Lousy: Love in the Time of Dementia"
10/15 - Podcast with Frank Silverstein
11/4 - New Author TBA
11/10 - Film discussion with Kitty Norton and "Wine, Women, and Dementia"
11/19 - Podcast with Kitty Norton
12/2 - New Author TBA
12/8 - Film discussion with C. Nathaniel Brown and "The Present"
12/17 - Podcast with C. Nathaniel Brown
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Celebrating Our Summer Interns and Their Stellar Achievements
We had the privilege of working with three interns from Arizona State University this summer. All of them were outstanding, serious, responsible, creative, and committed to their work. We accomplished a lot. Many projects that were on the back burner for years came to fruition because of them. They helped us build something extremely valuable. Here’s what they did:
Nicholas Shedd built a book for us from our 6-word memoir project. He gathered all of the memoirs and organized them, then created a page for each one. There are more than 140 pages. He designed a color scheme for the pages and added a butterfly sketch to each page. It looks beautiful. The goal of the memoirs is to tell your story using just 6 words. We started this project years ago and with Nick’s help actually have a manuscript to publish.
Yosaida Santana worked with us to analyze our entire platform, including website, social media, podcast, and more. She dove deep into the analytics, discovering new tools to deliver information. She created video reports weekly showing our strengths and weaknesses and giving us much to think about what we do and how we do it. She restarted our Google Ads which were on hold for more than a year because we had no one to manage them. We are getting greater exposure on Google. She also created several reels for us to use on social media featuring some of our authors. She was enthusiastic and deeply committed to her work.
Grace Canetta worked with us to update our online store, removing items and designs that no longer worked and adding new products and designs. She gave the site a facelift, placing summer products at the top of the page. This involved a learning curve for her as she worked with a new website. She liked the challenge and always offered to do more. She also worked with us on our film festival. She put together an excellent news release which we sent to many of our supporters. She also did some artwork for the film festival that is posted to our social media.
Each of the students said they loved their experience with AlzAuthors. They found the work meaningful and creative and they learned a lot about Alzheimer's and dementia.
Grace: “My internship with AlzAuthors was an incredibly valuable experience, both professionally and personally. I gained hands-on skills in digital marketing and communications while contributing to a cause close to my heart: supporting caregivers and families navigating Alzheimer’s and dementia. I’m especially grateful for the mentorship I received, which gave me a deeper appreciation for the power of storytelling in connecting communities. Overall, it was a meaningful experience that deepened my skills and values and will continue to shape my professional journey.”
Yosaida: “My internship with AlzAuthors has been an inspiring experience. As a Social Media Intern, I enjoyed applying content strategy to help authors grow their presence while learning to use tools like Publer and Google Analytics to manage campaigns, measure engagement, and refine strategy. What stood out most was connecting directly with author stories—engaging through Slack and the podcast to better understand their experiences as caregivers and the selfless work reflected in their writings and interviews. This strengthened my skills in digital storytelling and analytics and deepened my appreciation for AlzAuthors’ mission: to ensure no one feels alone on this journey. I’m grateful for the chance to contribute to such meaningful work and to be part of a team that brings hope, education, and community to caregivers and readers around the world.”
Thank you to Ruby Macksoud and Arizona State University for loaning us their students, and much gratitude to Sheila Luna for coordinating this opportunity.
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Are you a Sandwich Caregiver?
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Can I Do it Alone? A Substack Series by a former Alzheimer's Caregiver
Sue, the former caregiver to her husband with Alzheimer's, says, "Being alone is a frequent side-effect of loving someone with Alzheimer's. The person leaves you in many ways while still alive, and then you find yourself alone without their care to focus on. During the illness, your friends may drift away, too. So, the Substack is quite relevant to dementia caregivers." You can read it here. It's free.
What is Substack? From their website: Substack is a new media app that connects you with the creators, ideas, and communities you care about most. Here, you can discover world-class video, podcasts, and writing from a diverse set of creators who cover politics, pop culture, food, philosophy, tech, travel, and so much more.
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and community stories.
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Take a Chance on Our 10th Anniversary Book Giveaway!
We’ve still got books to give away!
Winners selected monthly!
Watch your email inbox for notification!
Enter once to win all year.
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We have so much to learn . . .
Thursday, September 18, at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET: Chris Tann and his wife, Debra, join Being Patient to discuss the realities of living with a diagnosis of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. Together, they will share what gives them strength, and why Chris sees his diagnosis not only as a challenge but also as an opportunity to leave a lasting impact through advocacy and research. Debra is the author of The Race of Dementia and has appeared on the AlzAuthors podcast.
WHEN: Thursday, September 18, at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET
WHERE: Being Patient’s Facebook page
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Susan’s Design of the Week
Please share this image with your friends and followers on social media using the following text, copy, paste and hit send! Thank you.
Coming to a screen near you! AlzAuthors is having a Film Festival running from September through December 2025. Featuring films inspired by real-life stories to support you on the Alzheimer's and dementia journey.
Register now at AlzAuthors.com.
#AlzAuthors #dementiaawareness #filmfestival
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Love our newsletter?
Please forward it to a family member, friend, or someone you know on a dementia journey. Share the news about our authors, their stories and books, and the valuable resources we offer: website, podcast, blog, and more.
Thank you.
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Let's keep connected ...
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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:
Follow our podcast and leave a review
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Join Books & Chit Chat book club
Volunteer your time and talents
Submit Your Book, Blog, or other Resource
Share this newsletter with others on a dementia journey
Visit us on The Whole Care Network
Check us out on the Health Podcast Network
Vote us up on the NYC Podcast Network
Check Out This Curated List of Alzheimer's Podcasts Featuring our Authors
Discover our authors in this podcast series on Alzheimer's
Purchase a Custom Caregiver Collection
Vote us up on the World Podcast Network
Listen to the podcast on Coming Home Well
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Thank you for supporting our mission to
connect caregivers with resources.
Your Management Team
L to R: Vicki Tapia, Ann Campanella, Christy Byrne Yates,
Marianne Sciucco, Susan Landeis, and Jean Lee
How to reach us:
Marianne Sciucco: podcast host/producer
mariannesciucco@gmail.com
Jean Lee: acquisitions editor, Custom Caregiver Collections
jean@alzheimersdaughter.com
Vicki Tapia: acquisitions editor, children's books
vicki.tapia@gmail.com
Ann Campanella: Custom Caregiver Collections
anncampanella@gmail.com
Susan Landeis: Custom Caregiver Collections
contact@susanlandeis.com
Christy Byrne Yates: podcast host/producer, YouTube channel manager
christy@cbyates.com
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This helps caregivers find us on the crowded internet. Submit your review here.
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