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AlzAuthors: Untangling Alzheimer's & Dementia

by AlzAuthors Featured on The Whole Care Network

Welcome to the AlzAuthors podcast! We’re so glad you found us. We are the global community of authors writing about Alzheimer's and dementia from personal experience to light the way for others. Join us as one of our authors shares their dementia journey, revealing intimate details and painfully obtained knowledge to help others currently on this path. We hope our stories offer comfort and support as we strive to break the silence and stigma surrounding a dementia diagnosis. May one of our authors speak to your experience. For more info please visit https://alzauthors.com.

Featuring Marianne Sciucco, RN

Podcast producer and host Marianne Sciucco is a co-founder and director at AlzAuthors and a registered nurse who cared for hundreds of dementia patients over a 20-year career. She provided care to her stepfather during his dementia journey and witnessed the painful decline of four beloved aunts to the disease. Her novel, "Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s love story," is based on a couple she met through her work and is a testament to the power of love in the face of this heart-wrenching disease.

Learn more about Marianne at AlzAuthors.com.

Purchase "Blue Hydrangeas"

Featuring Christy Byrne Yates, M.S., LEP

Christy is a Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP), retired school psychologist, author, speaker and coach/consultant. Her book, “Building a Legacy of Love: Thriving in the Sandwich Generation” recounts her journey as a working mother of two who also managed the care of her parents, both of whom had some form of dementia. Combining her lived experience with her professional expertise in human development, wellness and a strengths based approach to finding solutions, Christy develops content, workshops and coaching to support Sandwiched families. She incorporates meditation, mindfulness and other evidence based mind/body practices into her work. She’s worked with care communities, financial professionals, estate planners and employers. Christy has a master’s degree in counseling psychology, and graduate credentials in both education and school psychology.

Learn more about Christy at AlzAuthors.com.

AlzAuthors is an Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small commission on book sales at no cost to you.

Copyright: AlzAuthors

Episodes

Anthony Copeland-Parker Untangles Life as a Nomad and Early Onset Alzheimer's

1h 1m · Published 04 Apr 10:00

About Tony Copeland-Parker

When Anthony Copeland-Parker and his partner Catherine were in their 50’s, they found out that she had early-onset Alzheimer’s and he needed open heart-valve replacement surgery. They both had a history as endurance athletes, so,motivated by a love for running and travel, they sold their home, retired from their jobs, and became nomads, running marathons and half-marathons all over the world.

They’ve spent the last 7 years flying, running, walking, sailing, and sightseeing from Atlanta to Antarctica, finding joy in seizing each day and following their passions while trying to outrun Alzheimer’s.

Tony was a professional pilot/manager for 37 years, the last 27 with United Parcel Service. His last job had him managing pilots and flying B757/767-type aircraft all over the world. Since then, he and Catherine, whom he tenderly calls Cat, have traveled to 82 different countries. They have run at least a half-marathon in 35 countries and on all seven continents.

Tony shares his story on his blog, Running with Cat.com and in his book, Running All over the World: Our Race Against Early Onset Alzheimer’s.

In this episode we talk about the choice he made to keep an active lifestyle traveling the world instead of following the much often recommended advice to provide Catherine with a stable schedule and environment, how Catherine responds to having a new adventure in a new place every few days, traveling with a loved one with dementia, and how he’s had to come to terms with the fact that one day their travels will come to a natural end.

AlzAuthors co-founder and manager Jean Lee, author of Alzheimer’s Daughter, joins us.

After the podcast

Read Tony’s AlzAuthors post:

Anthony Copeland-Parker and Partner Catherine Become Marathon Nomads

Start readingRunning All over the World:Our Race Against Early Onset Alzheimer’s, now!

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

Tony appeared in our Virtual Q&A Love Stories: Keeping Romance Alive in Dementia Care

Watch on YouTube

Listen to the Podcast

Connect with Tony

Website and blog

Facebook

Twitter

***

About the Podcast

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.

AlzAuthors.com

Want to be on the podcast? Here’s what you need to know.

Support AlzAuthors at https://alzauthors.com/donate

Please leave a review and share this podcast with a caregiver or loved one on a dementia journey.

Lori La Bey Untangles How She Built a Media Platform for Caregivers

1h 2m · Published 28 Mar 10:00

About Lori La Bey

Lori La Bey is known as an international visionary when it comes to dementia care. Just ask Oprah, Maria Shriver, or Dr. Oz who have all recognized her for her work. Prior to becoming the founder of an international advocacy group and media outlet for dementia, she cared for her own mother who lived with the condition for 30 years. Confounded by the lack of resources available to caregivers, she decided there had to be a better way, and launched Alzheimer’s Speaks, providing a variety of platforms to connect people to services, products, and tools.

Lori’s goal is to raise the voices of all whose lives are touched by dementia. Her platform includes the Alzheimer’s Speaks Radio show, Dementia Chats, and Dementia Arts, and she is the co-founder of Dementia Map, a global directory that provides caregivers with resources to build their own roadmaps. She is a keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant, and is considered a Maria Shriver Architect of Change. Follow Lori as she shifts dementia care from crisis to comfort around the world.

In this episode, we discuss what she learned through decades of caregiving, how she built her amazing global platform, the choice we all face when confronted with a dementia diagnosis, and the benefit of looking at dementia through the lens of safe, happy, and pain-free.

Read Lori’s AlzAuthors Post:

Lori LaBey, Founder of Alzheimer’s Speaks, Helps AlzAuthors Celebrate 100 Posts

Read the rest of Lori’s essay “A Caregiver’s Nightmare: Mirror Image” inLife Choices: Putting the Pieces Together

Free Download: Alzheimer’s Speaks Communication Tips PDF

Connect with Lori

Radio Show

Blog

Facebook

LinkedIn

YouTube

Twitter

Instagram

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About the Podcast

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.

AlzAuthors.com

Want to be on the podcast? Here’s what you need to know.

Support AlzAuthors at https://alzauthors.com/donate

Please leave a review and share this podcast with a caregiver or loved one on a dementia journey.

REPLAY: Gincy Heins Untangles Living with a Spouse's Mild Cognitive Impairment

59m · Published 21 Mar 14:31

About Gincy Heins

Gincy Heins became caregiver to her husband at the age of 49 when he was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, also known as MCI, a neurological condition that causes a slight but noticeable and measurable decline in cognitive abilities. Memory and thinking skills are primarily affected, and there is a very real possibility of future Alzheimer’s or another dementia. At the time, he was just 55.

At first disbelieving that such a diagnosis could befall them so early in life, Gincy set out to learn all she could about the condition and sought support through her local Alzheimer’s Association. She soon became the expert on her husband’s diagnosis and began advocacy work to help others on the dementia journey. This included creating and publishing the bookBefore the Diagnosis: Stories of Life and Love Before Dementia and becoming one of the co-authors of the series365 Caregiving Tips: Practical Tips from Everyday Caregivers. She's a member of the AlzAuthors management team as an acquisitions editor and financeconsultant.

Gincy is an advocate for a full, enriched life and keeps busy with a variety of activities and interests. She teaches classes for older adults at a community college, is a Senior Commissioner for Cypress, California, speaks at conferences and on panel discussions, and volunteers at her public library and with Alzheimer’s Orange County.

Gincy is a vibrant, uplifting speaker with a hopeful message and a smart approach to life with cognitive difficulties. In this episode we discuss how she and her husband grew to accept a diagnosis that typically affects older people, and the power of positivity and active engagement in the face of MCI.

After the podcast

Watch now!

Gincy appeared in AlzAuthorsLive! Love Stories: Keeping Romance Alive in Dementia Care

ReadGincy’s AlzAuthors posts:

Anthology, Before the Diagnosis, from Gincy Heins: Captures Lives Prior to Dementia

365 Caregiving Tips Series Offers Helpful Information for Carers Everywhere

Start reading Gincy's Books:

Before the Diagnosis: Stories of Life and Love Before Dementia

Before the Diagnosis: More Stories of Life and Love Before Dementia

365 Caregiving Tips: Practical Tips from Everyday Caregiver

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

Connect with Gincy

Instagram:@gincyheins

Twitter:@GincyHeins

Facebook:@G-j Heins

About the Podcast

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.

AlzAuthors.com

Want to be on the podcast? Here’s what you need to know.

Support AlzAuthors at https://alzauthors.com/donate

Please leave a review and share this podcast with a caregiver or loved one on a dementia journey.

REPLAY: Peter Berry and Deb Bunt Untangle How to Live Well With Dementia

55m · Published 14 Mar 10:00

This podcast is a replay of one that appeared last year with our friends Peter Berry and Deb Bunt. They’ve written a new book, a volume of poetry, musings, that Peter sent to Deb via text messages at the end of long days living with dementia. She transcribed his words and lovingly put them in a book called Walk With Me: Musings Through The Dementia Fog. Its pages are exquisitely illustrated with the work of Daniel Ruffles,a talented friend and photographer who captures the beautyof the Suffolk landscape and coastal areas where Peter and Deb live. In celebration of this vital new addition to dementia literature, we're replaying their podcast interview. After the podcast, you can read more about the book on our website, AlzAuthors.com. Enjoy!

About Peter and Deb

Peter Berry was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at age 50 and 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 their AlzAuthors Posts:

Peter Berry Who Lives with Dementia Shares His Poetry in: Walk With Me, Compiled by Deb Bunt

Slow Puncture: a Memoir About Living Well with Early Onset Alzheimer’s by Peter Berry and Deb Bunt

So Much To Say: Peter Berry Tells His Story While He Can

* * *

Purchase Walk With Me: Musings Through The Dementia Fog on Amazon

Purchase Slow Puncture: Living Well with Dementia on Amazon

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

Connect with Peter and Deb

Website

Facebook: Deb

Facebook: Peter

Twitter

Instagram

About the Podcast

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.

AlzAuthors

Support AlzAuthors at https://alzauthors.com/donate

Please leave a review and share this podcast with a caregiver or loved one on a dementia journey.

Live Q&A - Love Stories: Keeping Romance Alive in Dementia Care

1h 6m · Published 07 Mar 11:00

About Love Stories: Keeping Romance Alive in Dementia Care

Caring for a spouse with Alzheimer’s or other dementia carries with it a lot of changes and uncharted territory. At the heart of these changes may be the very foundation of what makes you a couple: romance. New roles, a new lifestyle, and sometimes new living arrangements can take their toll on even the closest of couples.

On Wednesday, February 9th, 2022, AlzAuthors Live! presented Love Stories: Keeping Romance Alive in Dementia Care., a virtual Q&A. This one-hour program featured four of our authors sharing their personal stories of staying connected with their spouse in a variety of care situations. This is the audio replay of that event. You may also watch it on YouTube.

Meet Our Authors

Richard Creighton: Blogger atLiving With Alzheimer’s, and an AlzAuthors Associate, caring for his wife, Kate, at home with Alzheimer’s

Anthony Copeland-Parker: Author ofRunning All over the World,Our Race Against Early Onset Alzheimer’s, traveling the world and running marathons with his wife, Cat, after she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s

Gincy Heins: Author ofBefore the Diagnosis: Stories of Life and Love Before Dementia,co-author of365 Caregiving Tips: Practical Tips from Everyday Caregivers, and an assistant manager at AlzAuthors, caring for her husband, Steve, at home with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Sue Ryan: Author ofOur Journey of Love, 5 Steps to Navigate Your Caregiving Journey, caring for her husband, Jack, in memory care

Areas of discussion included:

Seeing your partner (and yourself) in a new light

Maintaining spousal roles

Continuing a partnership

Maintaining equality

Dealing with a forever altered romantic relationship

Nurturing intimacy

Handling loss

Battling loneliness

Dealing with behavior changes

Managing guilt

Coping with grief

Moving to memory care

You will come away with fresh insights and ideas for your own dementia journey.

What participants said:

  • I’m impressed with the positive attitude of the caregivers and the strategies they employ.
  • I love how each couple has kept up their own ways of socializing or managing. It goes to show how unique each relationship is.
  • This has been so rich and wonderful. I am grateful to all the presenters.
  • All of the panelists are so inspiring! I'm so grateful to hear their stories.
  • I love the way our panelists are so supportive of one another.
  • You are all remarkable, and a great inspiration.
  • Thank you for sharing so many honest thoughts.

Remember: You are not alone. 💜

About the Podcast

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.

AlzAuthors.com

Want to be on the podcast? Here’s what you need to know.

Support AlzAuthors at https://alzauthors.com/donate

Please subscribe to this podcast and leave leave a review. Sharing it with others on a dementia journey is much appreciated.

* * *

Rosanne Corcoran Untangles Dementia Care and the Sandwich Generation

1h 13m · Published 28 Feb 11:00

About Rosanne Corcoran

Rosanne Corcoran cared for her mother over a 12-year span, starting as a stealth caregiver, to full time caregiver, to in-home, sandwich caregiver for her mother’s final 6 years. Finding herself part of a growing caregiving community in need of both support and critical information, she has conducted exhaustive research into caregiving strategies for aging parents. To assist this community, share information and provide support, she started a regional Daughterhood Circle in the Philadelphia suburbs in 2019. In November of that year, she created Daughterhood The Podcast: For Caregivers to engage a dynamic group of subject matter experts to help others navigate these uncharted, and many times, tumultuous waters. She also blogs at HeyRoe.com. A member of the AlzAuthors management team, she assists with the technological side of our virtual events, and offers much appreciated guidance and support.

In this episode, we discuss the difficulties she encountered in getting a proper medical diagnosis for her mother, caregiving during COVID, the pitfalls in being a competent caregiver, how to survive life in the sandwich generation, and the grief that comes when dementia care reaches its natural conclusion.

Read Rosanne’s AlzAuthors Post:

Start reading Hey Roe!

Listen to Daughterhood, The Podcast

Connect with Rosanne Corcoran

Website and Blog

Podcast

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

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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.

AlzAuthors.com

Want to be on the podcast? Here’s what you need to know.

Support AlzAuthors at https://alzauthors.com/donate

Please subscribe and leave a review. Sharing this podcast with a caregiver or loved one on a dementia journey is much appreciated.

Susan Landeis Untangles Searching for Rainbows in Dementia

51m · Published 21 Feb 11:00

About Susan Landeis

Susan Landeis and her mother shared a difficult childhood, leading to abandonment issues, estrangement, and then a need for care on a dementia journey. Despite decades of abuse, Susan put aside her feelings and came to her mother’s aid, taking on not only the role of mom’s caregiver, but eventually the role of caring for her father.

This experience inspired her first book, Optimal Caregiving: A guide for managing senior health and well-being. And then a second, more personal memoir, called In Search of Rainbows: A daughter’s story of loss, hope, and redemption.

Susan is a certified nutritionist and certified senior advocate. Prior to this, she spent over twenty years working in the field of Health Information Management. She is also a member of the AlzAuthors management team, and is responsible for creating the beautiful graphics on our social media platforms.

In this episode, we discuss how she overcame her difficult childhood and rebuilt her relationship with her mother, her search for the rainbows in dementia care, and the unexpected gift she received from her mother’s Lewy Body disease.

Read Susan’s AlzAuthors Post: Susan Landeis Cares for Her mother with Lewy Body Dementia: In Search of Rainbows

Start reading In Search of Rainbows: A daughter's story of loss, hope, and redemption

and Optimal Caregiving: A guide for managing senior health and well-being now!

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

Connect with Susan Landeis

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Linked In

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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.

AlzAuthors.com

Want to be on the podcast? Here’s what you need to know.

Support AlzAuthors at https://alzauthors.com/donate

Please leave a review and share this podcast with a caregiver or loved one on a dementia journey.

Helene Berger Untangles Choosing Joy in the Dementia Journey

1h 4m · Published 14 Feb 13:15

About Helene Berger

Prior to assuming the role of dementia caregiver to Ady, her husband of fifty years, Helene Berger held major positions of leadership throughout her life, in her home community of Miami, Florida, and across the United States. She is recognized as a powerful and inspirational speaker, and has used her voice and influence to marshal help for large and diverse groups of people with a wide variety of needs.

Choosing Joy, Alzheimer’s: A Book of Hope is her first book. It was inspired by the unanticipated, positive results that her husband Ady achieved after his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. It is a comprehensive guide, combining the concrete methodologies learned over the following six years, as well as inspirational examples and philosophy.

Although written about her experience with Alzheimer’s, her guidance applies to a loved one with any type of debilitating disease – as well as to all the meaningful relationships in our lives. It is a rare book of hope, providing practical and emotional support to both the caregiver and the patient. And all the while, it is a love story, and an honest retelling of a lifetime journey.

In this episode, we discuss many of the strategies Helene learned to help Ady thrive despite Alzheimer’s. Her techniques, delivered with patience and love, allowed him to maintain his dignity and individuality. These include her belief that it is better to ask questions rather than make demands, the difference between “not now” and “never,” and the wisdom that 50 years of marriage brought to their dementia journey. Helene acknowledges that her techniques may not work for everyone and may not produce the results she achieved with Ady, but they are certainly worth a try.

Read Helene’s AlzAuthors Post: https://alzauthors.com/2020/08/04/helene-berger-alzheimers-memoir/

Start reading Choosing Joy, Alzheimer’s: A Book of Hope now! https://amzn.to/3akdkat

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

Connect with Helene

Website:https://heleneberger.com

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

Twitter:https://twitter.com/HeleneRBerger

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

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/helene-berger

About AlzAuthors Podcast

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.

AlzAuthors.com

Support AlzAuthors at https://alzauthors.com/donate

Please leave a review and share this podcast with a caregiver or loved one on a dementia journey.

Debra Tann, Ed. D. Untangles The Race of Dementia: Care, Cure, and Disparity

57m · Published 07 Feb 11:00

About Debra Tann, Ed. D.

As a young child, Debra Tann encountered what she later learned to be dementia in her beloved great grandmother. At the time, the condition was known as “senility.” This encounter had a significant impact on her young heart and mind. Many years later, after a 14-year career as a professor in Political Science, and another 14 years operating an independent Christian school, she has taken her professional skillset and transitioned her platform to that of dementia education. She is a certified Dementia Educator, certified Dementia Friends Champion, and a certified Virtual Dementia Tour facilitator. And she’s now the CEO of Reminiscent, an organization offering Alzheimer’s and dementia education in her community.

She is also the author of The Race of Dementia, part memoir, part guide to assist caregivers on the dementia journey with humor, insight, and practical advice. This book explores the racial disparities in dementia care as well as the race to find a cure.

Debra advocates on behalf of dementia from a three-pronged position:

·Locally, she is CEO at Reminiscent, in her hometown, Valdosta, Georgia;

·At the state level she is active with GARD (Georgia Alzheimer’s & Related Dementias); and

·Nationally, she advocates for AIM (Alzheimer’s Impact Movement). She is appointed to Senator Jon Ossoff.

Originally from Sacramento, Debra is married to a retired United States Naval service member. Together they have three young adult sons, three daughters-in-law, one granddaughter, and two grand dogs. She loves traveling, reading, Bible study, strolling the shoreline, theatrical plays, and stand-up comedy.

In this episode, we discuss how to help children understand a dementia encounter, how confusion begets confusion, how dementia adversely affects people of color, and how caregivers can empower themselves.

We are joined by my friend and AlzAuthors co-founder Jean Lee, author of Alzheimer’s Daughter, who is the acquisitions editor that introduced Debra to our organization.

* * *

Read Debra’s AlzAuthors Post: https://alzauthors.com/2021/07/20/debra-tann-race-of-dementia/

Start reading The Race of Dementia now! https://amzn.to/2Nd78f3

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

Connect with Debra

Twitter

Facebook

Linkedin.com

Website and Podcast Library

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About the AlzAuthors Podcast

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.

AlzAuthors.com

Want to be on the podcast? Here’s what you need to know.

Support AlzAuthors at https://alzauthors.com/donate

Please leave a review and share this podcast with a caregiver or loved one on a dementia journey.

Kimberly Best Untangles the Art of Mediation in Dementia Care

53m · Published 31 Jan 11:00

About Kimberly BestRN, MA

When a family member is diagnosed with dementia, a number of complicated issues may arise: family conflict, the re-emergence of old slights and misunderstandings, disagreements on how to provide care or navigate the journey, and more. Mediator and conflict coach Kimberly Best is passionate about helping others resolve such conflicts in a productive, non-litigious way, and in finding optimal solutions to problems for all parties involved.

She spent most of her career as a Registered Nurse in intensive care, trauma, and emergency medicine, where she cared for people in extreme need, and gained valuable experience in the healthcare system. This inspired her to become a Civil and Family Mediator. She is the owner of Best Conflict Solutions, where she provides conflict coaching and civil, family, healthcare, and elder mediation in Franklin, Tennessee. She serves on the board of the Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators. She is a speaker and trainer on conflict management, transitions, and difficult decisions including end of life issues.

Kim is the author of How to Live Forever, A Guide to Writing the Final Chapter of Your Life Story.

In this episode, we discuss the value of professional mediation in dementia care, why your story is your legacy, how to control the final chapter in your life, and the fine line in caregiving between hope and regret.

Read Kim’s AlzAuthors Post: https://alzauthors.com/2021/04/13/kimberly-best-how-to-live-forever/

Start reading How to Live Forever: A Guide to Writing the Final Chapter of Your Life Story now!

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

Connect with Kim

Website

LinkedIn

Twitter

Instagram

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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/ .

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Please leave a review and share this podcast with a caregiver or loved one on a dementia journey.

AlzAuthors: Untangling Alzheimer's & Dementia has 135 episodes in total of non- explicit content. Total playtime is 125:10:26. The language of the podcast is English. This podcast has been added on July 28th 2022. It might contain more episodes than the ones shown here. It was last updated on May 16th, 2024 17:40.

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