AlzAuthors: Untangling Alzheimer's & Dementia

Today’s guest is Carol Bradley Bursack, an author, columnist, consultant, and speaker who provided care to a neighbor and six elderly family members over the span of two decades. This experience led her to write Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories, a portable support group for caregivers that is also used as a college text for gerontology and nursing home administration classes. Her websites Minding Our Elders and Minding Our Elders blog, include links to helpful agencies, articles rich with information and comfort, links to support groups, and resources for caregiver, boomer and elder needs.

Carol also works as a consultant on aging and caregiving issues. Her newspaper column Minding Our Elders has run weekly for over 15 years, both in print and online. She is the spokesperson and writer for Egosan Products, where she writes the column “Ask Carol” on their EgosanCares.com website and manages their social media. She also moderates a paid forum for Dr. Leslie Kernisan’s website Better Health While Aging. She has written for HealthCentral.com for over 14 years and for Agingcare.com for 10 years.

Carol is frequently interviewed on national radio shows, including NPR's Talk of the Nation; Senior Solutions, produced by Detroit Area Agency on Aging; and Wisconsin Public Radio. She’s routinely interviewed by newspapers, magazines and on major websites, including Reader’s Digest (Digital), Next Avenue, Salon.com, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The USA Today Network, the Chicago-based Make It Better magazine, The Upside of Aging, Booming Encore, US News &World Report, Market Watch, and more.

She is a co-moderator on the Facebook sites USagainstAlzheimers and Caregivers Committed to Wellness, as well as a contributor to Caregivers Companion and Joining the Dots on Alzheimer’s.

Carol is currently working on a book that will include her signature support for caregivers and elders. The book will also delve into the many changes that have occurred in caregiving over the last two decades. She plans to include chapters on living well until we die, death with dignity, with more revealed as the book evolves.

In this episode we discuss caring for our loved ones with dementia by entering their world, managing medications,and the trials and tribulations of long term care.

Read Carol’s AlzAuthors Post: https://alzauthors.com/2016/06/10/meet-carol-bradley-bursack-author-of-minding-our-elders/

Start reading Minding Our Elders now! Link https://amzn.to/3ahhW3a

(Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales.)

Connect with Carol

Website: https://mindingourelders.com

Blog: https://www.mindingoureldersblogs.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MindingOurElders/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MindingOurElders/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mindingourelder

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mindingourelder/pins/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mindingourelders/

Each season our podcast brings you six of our authors sharing their dementia journeys. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends in need of knowledge, comfort and support on their own dementia journeys.

AlzAuthors is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please visit https://alzauthors.com/donate/ .

Thank you for listening.

In this podcast, we’re turning the tables on podcast host and producer Marianne Sciucco. She is the guest and Jean Lee of AlzAuthors is the interviewer. Marianne is a co-founder and manager of AlzAuthors and is the author of Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s love story. She’s also a registered nurse who has cared for hundreds of dementia patients and their families over her 20+ years career.

In 2015 she became a dementia daughter when her stepfather was diagnosed with mixed dementia: frontotemporal, Alzheimer’s, and vascular, and she became his long-distance caregiver. She soon took on the care of her mother. as well. Her caregiving journey ended in 2018.

Marianne continues to work as a nurse in college health, is working on a prequel to Blue Hydrangeas, and is dedicated to making AlzAuthors an information hub for caregivers.

In this episode, we discuss the many losses Marianne has recently endured, her new blog project “The Grief Diary: Exploring the Aftermath of Love and Loss,” the lessons she learned as a long distance caregiver, and how she wrote and published the book that launched AlzAuthors.

Read Marianne’s AlzAuthors post: https://alzauthors.com/2018/05/02/meet-marianne-sciucco-alzauthors-admin-and-author-of-blue-hydrangeas-an-alzheimers-love-story/

Start reading Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s love story now! https://amzn.to/3suzfVv

We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales.

Connect with Marianne:

Website and blog https://mariannesciucco.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marianne.sciucco.1/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarianneSciucco

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-sciucco/

Each season our podcast brings you six of our authors sharing their dementia journeys. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends in need of knowledge, comfort and support on their own dementia journeys.

AlzAuthors is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more, supporting our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please visit https://alzauthors.com/donate/ .

Thank you for listening!

Lauren Dykovitz knew nothing about Alzheimer’s when her mother was diagnosed at the age of 62. Just 25, with a new career and recently engaged, Lauren took a crash course in caregiving which changed her life, and eventually led her to candidly share her story on Facebook. This soon grew into the blog, Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s, which grew into the book, Learning to Weather the Storm: A Story of Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s. Her goal was not only to share her story and the lessons she’s learned but to let others know they are not alone.

In the beginning, she says, she had a difficult time coping with her mom’s disease and felt she had nowhere to turn for advice and support. As a younger caregiver, it was difficult to find anyone who could relate to what she was going through.

In many ways, the blog serves as her online journal. She finds it therapeutic to write down her thoughts and feelings as she navigates her way through life with this horrific disease and the aftermath of her mother’s death. The name of the blog says it all: She tells stories of life, love, and Alzheimer’s, and warns that she might make you cry at times, but she promises to make you laugh, as well. And, to always, always, always keep it real.

“I’m not an expert on Alzheimer’s,” she says. “I’m an expert on loving someone who has it.”

In this episode we discuss the particular difficulties of being a millenial caregiver, how connecting with other caregivers via social media makes it easier, and why her mother’s forgetting her wasn’t the worst thing that happened.

Read Lauren’sAlzAuthors post: https://alzauthors.com/2018/01/24/meet-lauren-dykovitz-author-of-learning-to-weather-the-storm-a-story-of-life-love-and-alzheimers/

Start reading Learning to Weather the Storm: A Story of Life, Love, and Alzheimer's now: https://amzn.to/3aetvbl

Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales.

Connect with Lauren

Website: https://lifeloveandalzheimers.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lifeloveandalzheimers/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeloveandalzheimers/

Each season our podcast brings you six of our authors sharing their dementia journeys. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends in need of knowledge, comfort and support on their own dementia journeys.

AlzAuthors is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please visit https://alzauthors.com/donate/ .

Thank you for listening.

Today’s guest is Peter Berry. Diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at age 50, Peter took an early retirement from his job working in the family’s timber business. After the devastating diagnosis, he became depressed but, being a ‘glass half full’ personality, battled through his depression and focused on his lifelong passion for cycling. He has used this passion to raise awareness of the condition, particularly in younger people.

Peter’s whole philosophy is to live well with dementia and to inspire others to do the same. He maintains an active lifestyle due to his love of cycling, which keeps him fit both below and above the eyebrows, he says. He rides a penny farthing, a single speed bike, a road bike, and a 1950's Claud Butler, although not all at the same time – he’s good, but not that good, he jokes.

Along with his friend Deb Bunt, Peter cycles nearly every day. Their travels throughout Suffolk, England have led them to have many serious heart-to-hearts about his disease, which Deb put together in a book called Slow Puncture: Living Well with Dementia.

“It's a book about me,” Peter says, “but a book I have never read and never will read as my short-term memory means I have forgotten the previous sentence as soon as I have started a new one.”

In this episode we discuss the difficulties encountered with a dementia diagnosis at age 50, the financial pressures he’s had to overcome, and how cycling has made life with COVID tolerable.

Read Peter’s AlzAuthors Post: https://alzauthors.com/2020/12/29/early-onset-alzheimers-bunt-berry/

Start reading Slow Puncture now! https://amzn.to/3tbDsis

Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales.

Connect with Peter Berry

Website: https://peterberrylwa.wixsite.com/peterberry/the-book

Facebook:https://m.facebook.com/DebBuntAuthor

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/PeterBerryLivingWithAlzheimers/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/PeterBe1130

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/peterberry8/

Each season our podcast brings you six of our authors sharing their dementia journeys. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends in need of knowledge, comfort and support on their own dementia journeys.

AlzAuthors is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please visit https://alzauthors.com/donate/ .

Thank you for listening.

Paula Spencer Scott is a long-time journalist and health and family-life specialist focusing on self-care, eldercare, and baby care. She's the author of the bestseller “Surviving Alzheimer's: Practical Tips and Soul-Saving Wisdom for Caregivers” and the recently released “When Your Aging Parent Needs Help: A Geriatrician's Step-by-Step Guide to Memory Loss, Resistance, Safety Worries, & More”with Dr.Leslie Kernisan

Paula experienced dementia in five of her immediate family members, including her live-in father-in-law, and took on a variety of caring roles. This gave her the precious insight and advice that flows throughout her caregiver guides.​​

Paula’s work may be familiar to you. She’s been published in a variety of mainstream magazines and online platforms, including Woman's Day, Parade, AARP Bulletin, Newsweek, PBS Next Avenue, Glamour, Reader's Digest, USA Weekend, Caring.com, and WebMD, to name a few.

​She has earned writing awards from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Arthritis Foundation,the National Political Women's Caucus, and the Western Publishing Association.

Her other books include “Momfidence” and a series of interactive journals for Peter Pauper Press: Pregnancy Journal, An Oral History: Preserve Your Family's Story, Mother and Son, and Like Mother, Like Daughter: A Discovery Journal for the Two of Us (written with her daughter, Page).

In this episode we discuss the Cardinal Rules of Dementia Care, three things you can change about your dementia journey, and how knowledge can be a form of self-care.

Read Paula’s AlzAuthors Post: https://alzauthors.com/2016/12/28/meet-paula-spencer-scott-author-of-surviving-alzheimers-practical-tips-and-soul-saving-wisdom-for-caregivers/

Start reading Surviving Alzheimer’s https://amzn.to/3uXlpxk and When Your Aging Parent Needs Help https://amzn.to/3ecYsQW now!

Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales.

Connect with Paula Spencer Scott

Websites:

Surviving Alzheimer’s…Together: https://www.survivingalz.net/

Paula Spencer Scott: https://www.paulaspencerscott.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/survivingalz/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSpencerScott

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/forpaulaspencerscott/

Paula’s Recommended Resources

Better Health While Aging: BetterHealthWhileAging.net.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Colorado State University: https://courses.online.colostate.edu

Mindspan: Stay Sharp All Your Lifetime Through Better Brain Health

Dementia Together: dementiatogether.org

Each season our podcast brings you six of our authors sharing their dementia journeys. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends in need of knowledge, comfort and support on their own dementia journeys.

AlzAuthors is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please visit https://alzauthors.com/donate/ .

Thank you for listening.

Today’s guest is Susan Straley, author of the dual memoirs "Alzheimer's Trippin' with George" which memorialize her 10,000-mile cross-country trike trips after her husband’s dementia diagnosis.

When Susan and George semi-retired from their machine design and manufacturing business in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 2008, they moved all their belongings into storage except for what they needed for a long bicycle trip on their recumbent tricycles, and pedaled around Wisconsin for 40 days. Throughout their travels, Susan uploaded pictures and stories to an online journal to keep family and friends informed of their whereabouts. This journal began her writing career.

Born with an urge to wander, Susan thought it only natural to want to run away when dementia entered their lives in 2015, so she and George took off on their trikes for a three-month trip around the States. She again kept an online journal of their adventures, but this time she included the deepest, most personal details of the progression of George’s disease. Her readers, followers, friends, and family encouraged her to tell all.

"It will be so helpful to others who have loved ones with dementia," they said.

This became her first book.

When Susan and George arrived home she was encouraged to continue writing about their experiences, and the second half of their dementia journey turned into a love story, the love between the two of them, but also the wonderful outpouring of love and support they enjoyed from friends, family, and their community.

In 2018, George succumbed to Alzheimer’s. Susan still enjoys riding her recumbent tricycle and traverses the country in her camper, sharing her travels and adventures online all the way.

In this episode we discuss life after Alzheimer’s caregiving, the value of support groups, and turning a travel blog into a book.

Read Susan’s AlzAuthors post: https://alzauthors.com/2019/10/01/susan-straley-alzheimers-trippin-george/

Start reading "Alzheimer’s Trippin’ with George" now! https://amzn.to/38RDt39

Available in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook.

Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales.

Connect with Susan Straley

Website: https://www.susanstraley.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrippinwithSusan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SusanStraley

Each season our podcast brings you six of our authors sharing their dementia journeys. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends in need of knowledge, comfort and support on their own dementia journeys.

AlzAuthors is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please visit https://alzauthors.com/donate/ .

Thank you for listening.

When both of her parents were diagnosed with dementia, Vicki Tapia, a lactation consultant who had coached around 10,000 mother-baby pairs, found her energies redirected to the other end of life. A lifelong writer, she soon began journaling as an outlet for the stress and strain she encountered as their long-distance caregiver. Over time, this journal became a book-length work, a memoir detailing her family’s rocky road through this devastating disease.

She was inspired to seek publication after many friends told her that reading her words helped them on their own dementia journeys. Her story was then published by Praeclarus Press as Somebody Stole My Iron: A Family Memoir of Dementia. It became a finalist in the 2015 High Plains Book Awards and was named "One of the best Alzheimer's books of all time" by Book Authority.

Vicki is a co-founder and manager of AlzAuthors, happily serving as treasurer, acquisitions editor, and whatever else is needed. She’s a lifelong traveler and has been all over the globe and the United States. When she’s not busy writing, you’re apt to find her out walking her dog or off on an adventure with her husband on their tandem bicycle.

In this episode, we discuss the dilemma of being a long-distance caregiver to two parents with dementia at the same time, the trauma of moving her parents not once but twice, and how journaling helped her keep her sanity.

Read Vicki’s AlzAuthors blog post: https://alzauthors.com/2018/05/15/meet-vicki-tapia-alzauthors-admin-and-author-of-somebody-stole-my-iron/

Purchase Somebody Stole My Iron: A Family Memoir of Dementia: https://amzn.to/38dsl0o

Purchase Maggie https://amzn.to/3hO80BW

Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales.

Connect with Vicki

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SomebodyStoleMyIron/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vicleetap

Website: https://vickitapia.com/

Each season our podcast brings you six of our authors sharing their dementia journeys. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends in need of knowledge, comfort, and support on their own dementia journeys.

AlzAuthors is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please visit https://alzauthors.com/donate/ .

Thank you for listening.

When both of her parents were diagnosed with dementia, Vicki Tapia, a lactation consultant who had coached around 10,000 mother-baby pairs, found her energies redirected to the other end of life. A lifelong writer, she soon began journaling as an outlet for the stress and strain she encountered as their long-distance caregiver. Over time, this journal became a book-length work, a memoir detailing her family’s rocky road through this devastating disease.

She was inspired to seek publication after many friends told her that reading her words helped them on their own dementia journeys. Her story was then published by Praeclarus Press as Somebody Stole My Iron: A Family Memoir of Dementia. It became a finalist in the 2015 High Plains Book Awards and was named "One of the best Alzheimer's books of all time" by Book Authority.

Vicki is a co-founder and manager of AlzAuthors, happily serving as treasurer, acquisitions editor, and whatever else is needed. She’s a lifelong traveler and has been all over the globe and the United States. When she’s not busy writing, you’re apt to find her out walking her dog or off on an adventure with her husband on their tandem bicycle.

In this episode, we discuss the dilemma of being a long-distance caregiver to two parents with dementia at the same time, the trauma of moving her parents not once but twice, and how journaling helped her keep her sanity.

Read Vicki’s AlzAuthors blog post: https://alzauthors.com/2018/05/15/meet-vicki-tapia-alzauthors-admin-and-author-of-somebody-stole-my-iron/

Purchase Somebody Stole My Iron: A Family Memoir of Dementia: https://amzn.to/38dsl0o

Purchase Maggie https://amzn.to/3hO80BW

Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales.

Connect with Vicki

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SomebodyStoleMyIron/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vicleetap

Website: https://vickitapia.com/

Each season our podcast brings you six of our authors sharing their dementia journeys. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends in need of knowledge, comfort, and support on their own dementia journeys.

AlzAuthors is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please visit https://alzauthors.com/donate/ .

Thank you for listening.

Today’s guest is Gerda Saunders, author of the mesmerizing memoir Memory’s Last Breath: Field Notes on My Dementia, in which she describes in great detail her descent into cerebral microvascular disease, a precursor to dementia. A gifted writer, she is also a woman of many talents and has had a remarkable career in higher education.

She grew up in South Africa during apartheid, the child of a farmer in a family of six children. In spite of her family’s lack of resources, she succeeded in earning a B.S. in Math and Chemistry from the University of Pretoria. She then worked as a research scientist at the South African Atomic Energy Board for three years and left that to become a teacher. She taught Science and Math at Kempton Park (Afrikaans) High School, and Math and Physics at the Kempton Park Technical Institute. In 1984, she emigrated to the United States and settled in Utah with her husband Peter and their two children.

She continued her education at the University of Utah and earned a PhD in English while teaching Business and Creative Writing. After graduation, she worked for seven years in the business world as a technical writer and program manager. In 2001, she became the Associate Director of Gender Studies at the University of Utah. In addition to her administrative role, she taught classes in gender studies and English Literature.

In 2002, SMU Press published her first book, Blessings on the Sheep Dog, a collection of stories about which Nobel laureate J.M. Coetzee said, "With cool intelligence, laconic wit, and deep feeling, Saunders explores the moral chaos of South Africa and the pain of a new generation of...exiles."

In this episode we discuss what led to her seeking a diagnosis for the peculiar and worrisome behaviors that surfaced at the age of 61, how she’s lived joyously for almost a decade with the d-word, and her carefully crafted end-of-life plan.

Start reading Memory’s Last Breath: Field Notes on My Dementia now! https://amzn.to/2LdZuQ8

Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales.

Read Gerda’s post on AlzAuthors: https://alzauthors.com/2017/10/31/meet-gerda-saunders-author-of-memorys-last-breath/

Read Gerda’s article in Slate: My Dementia - Telling who I am before I forget

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/family/2014/03/dementia_and_aging_diary_of_a_sufferer_of_microvascular_disease.html

Connect with Gerda Saunders:

Website: https://www.gerdasaunders.com/

Blog: https://www.gerdasaunders.com/blog/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gerda.saunders

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16645330.Gerda_Saunders

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerda-saunders-a85381100/detail/recent-activity/shares/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/gerdasaunders/my-dementia-my-fashion/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GerdaMSaunders

Each season our podcast brings you six of our authors sharing their dementia journeys. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends in need of knowledge, comfort, and support on their own dementia journeys.

AlzAuthors is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please visit https://alzauthors.com/donate/ .

Thank you for listening.

Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN is a neurologist, author, poet, educator, and champion of those living with Alzheimer's and other dementias and their care partners. His professional life collided with his personal in 2002, when his father, Lester, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He soon found himself on his own dementia journey, and like many other care partners, became adrift in despair, confusion, grief, and helplessness as he watched his father decline.

Soon after Lester started attending a day care program for people with cognitive impairment, he began to show a previously unknown talent for painting watercolors. This not only delighted him and his family but also others at the center, and he obtained some local notoriety for his colorful artwork. Not long after, Daniel’s own creativity with words emerged, and his poetry became a necessary outlet to release his sorrow over his father’s illness. The transformations he and Lester experienced through their work inspired him to create his foundation, Cognitive Dynamics, which brings the expressive arts to person-centered care, enabling those with cognitive impairment to find new ways to express themselves.

Daniel believes his dementia journey has made him a better physician, and he brings his personal insight and the lessons he’s learned to his practice, where he is passionate about promoting self-preservation and dignity for all persons with cognitive impairment. He is the author of several books of poetry and with his wife, Ellen, has written “A Pocket Guide for the Alzheimer's Caregiver.” He lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with Ellen and their two daughters.

Daniel was selected by the American Academy of Neurology as the 2008 Donald M. Palatucci Advocate of the Year; he also has been designated an Architect of Change by Maria Shriver. In 2016, he was chosen by the University of Alabama Medical Alumni Association as a recipient of the Martha Myers Role Model Award, honoring physician alumni whose lives epitomize the ideal of service to their communities.

In this episode we discuss confronting dementia from the unique perspectives of both son and physician, how his father’s dementia almost brought him under and the self-care methods that helped him regain and maintain his physical and emotional balance, and how the expressive arts can bring comfort, peace, and joy to those living with a dementia diagnosis.

Read Dr. Potts’ AlzAuthors post: https://alzauthors.com/2017/02/21/meet-daniel-c-potts-physician-author-and-dementia-advocate/

Start reading “A Pocket Guide for the Alzheimer's Caregiver” with Ellen Potts now!https://amzn.to/3nP2IIB

Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales.

Connect with Dr. Potts

Blog: https://danielcpotts.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.potts.92372

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanielCPotts

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielcpotts/

Cognitive Dynamics: www.cognitivedynamics.org

Each season our podcast brings you six of our authors sharing their dementia journeys. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends in need of knowledge, comfort and support on their own dementia journeys.

AlzAuthors is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please visit https://alzauthors.com/donate/ .

Thank you for listening.