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A Healing Exercise For Me
Life Giving Dementia Care is part memoir and part self-help book for those in the role of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Why was this an important book for you to write?
The caregiving experience is such a roller coaster of emotion. Fear, discovery, fun, fatigue, isolation, joy and pain. I did many things pretty well during that time, but I also made mistakes. I wanted to use my experience to help my sons if I ever develop dementia, and ultimately help other caregivers, through the experience; to help them have an easier time than I did. Doing this also ended up being a healing exercise for me, which was unexpected.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
The times I failed my mom were tough to revisit. But the few months between her broken hip and passing were especially difficult. When I recorded the audiobook, there were sections I had to re-record several times because i kept crying. She declined so quickly and became a shell of the woman I knew. At the same time, she became someone new who I found great joy in knowing. Mom’s body failed before her mind completely left her, so we became closer toward the end, if that was even possible.
What is a common misconception you feel people have about dementia?
That it’s all about patients forgetting things. Forgetfulness is part of dementia, certainly. But overall it is a small part. There are a myriad of challenges to deal with on a daily basis. Some originate from forgetfulness. Many from physical changes.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?
That a dementia diagnosis is not an instant black cloud. It’s a long road. If caregivers prepare, plan, and have appropriate expectations for themselves and their loved one, this can be a journey of growth and of joy.
Author Links: GoodRead | Twitter | Facebook | Website
If you are caring for a parent who has dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, what do you do first and where can you get help?
Written by a daughter who provided care for her mom, Life Giving Dementia Care is an easy-to-read, non-technical Amazon bestselling book (May 2021) that walks you step-by-step through dealing with all stages of dementia or Alzheimer’s care. It’s like you’re chatting with a friend who has “been there and done that,” candidly sharing their own fears, pain, joys, and lessons learned as a caregiver.
Featuring useful chapter takeaway summaries and an appendix with helpful resources and comments by other caregivers, inside you’ll learn:
how to spot early signs and get a diagnosis
understand and manage their mental and physical decline and increasing medical needs
work with day-care, in-home, and nursing homes
make financial, legal, and funeral plans
and finally, how to care for yourself and recover
The key purpose of this essential book is to help caregivers be confident, and even experience joy, as they provide care for a parent, the elderly, or other adults with dementia or Alzheimer’s. Life Giving Dementia Care, a book about Alzheimer’s and dementia care, will help both family members and caregivers understand and meet the many challenges of this disease. Buy a copy now for yourself and a friend.
Life Giving Dementia Care
Life Giving Dementia Care: Let’s Talk: How to Bring Confidence, Compassion and Joy Into Your Role as a Caregiver is a half memoir half guide book by Toni Kanzler about, as the title suggests, patients diagnosed with dementia.
In the very first few pages of the book, we find out that Kanzler is a woman with many ambitions; however, being a caregiver was never one of them, as is the case with most caregivers. She found herself in a situation where both her parents were dementia patients and passed away due to a terminal illness. Besides taking care of her parents to the best of her abilities, this was a wake-up call for Kanzler that she is at a high risk of getting dementia. In the hopes that her sons would take care of her if and when that time comes, she decided to leave them something where she would point to the mistakes and good things that happened while she was a caregiver, so they don’t make the same mistakes and have more joyful moments. Thus this book was created.
The book is divided into a few parts covering the early, middle, last, and after stages. Kanzler takes us through the whole journey from the earliest symptoms like crying and then forgetting that they have called, doctor visits and diagnosis, the hardships, mistakes, good times, saying goodbye, and the aftermath of it all from a caregiver’s point of view as well as a patient’s point of view to better understand what our loved one may be or will be going through.
Toni writes in a casual yet deeply touching tone, from her introduction and her stories to the book’s final words. Yet, she manages to get her point across to anyone who decides to give it a chance or needs it.
And just as every book finds you at the right time, this one found me just a few weeks after losing someone dear to Alzheimer’s. I was nowhere near being the caretaker of my loved one or even involved in helping her, so this book was almost a lecture about what the people closest to me dealt with because of the illness.
Life Giving Dementia Care by Toni Kanzler is primarily targeted at caregivers. Still, I recommend it to anyone dealing with or dealing with this disease, medical and psychology students, or anyone just eager to learn something new.
Pages: 237 | ASIN : B08PYM45YD
LITERARY TITAN 