In 1997 Dorothy Webb’s husband, John, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and in 2003 an MRI showed that he also had vascular dementia. Dorothy found herself struggling to cope with the emotional and practical demands of carer – a role that wasn’t planned, just a sudden change to life, and a gradual change to John.
Coming to terms with the grief associated with this loss, Dorothy turned to journalling her experience. She found that support and literature about the early stages of dementia was scarce and unhelpful, and yet it’s a slow and silent stage that is felt most by the primary carer. And so she crafted her experience into a book, hoping to inspire and give courage to others facing the same challenges as she did in those early years of John’s illnesses.
Dorothy self-published her book, titled ‘One Day At A Time – Sharing Life with Dementia’, in print in 2004. She tells me she has a few copies left, not many. It was highly recommended by the Alzheimer’s Association of NSW (Australia).
Now her book has been e-published by MetaPlume as ‘When Goodbye Begins – Sharing Life with Dementia‘, making it available to a whole new group of carers of people with dementia. The book explores what it’s like to experience fear, anger, despair and a whole range of emotions, as the carer goes about their day, their week, their new life, in their new role.
Take advantage of the Look Inside preview available on Amazon, or the sample on Smashwords. I myself am not a carer of a person with dementia, but I enjoyed reading the book immensely, because it shows such spirit, and love of life, and hope in caring and surviving difficult times. It has a great wisdom to it, and many great lines that inspire any reader.
Download a PDF of the Press Release about this title.
