When Mom started having memory issues 7 years ago, she was concerned. She was having difficulty finding words. She was forgetting familiar faces at church. She couldn’t remember directions to places she was accustomed to driving. The doctor said it was likely age-related memory loss. She stopped using the computer. She stopped cooking. Dad helped make accommodations for her lapses. He created a medication chart. He helped her use her phone. He was doing much more for her than we were aware of.

At her granddaughter Sarah’s wedding, she struggled to remember what time to be where. She got turned around in the hotel and couldn’t find her room. Later, when her sister Betty was in the hospital, it become obvious to all of us Mom wasn’t able to understand what was happening. Where she had recognized her own struggles before, she now believed she was fine, when it was clear to all of us that she was not.

The decision was made to move to Gainesville to a facility that had all levels of care. With the move, she deteriorated quickly or it looked like it. It is more likely that the move revealed the severity of her condition because she was no longer in a familiar place. Either way, it was obvious, she was severely limited in her cognitive abilities. Her new doctor diagnosed her with frontotemporal dementia. It was devastating news which marked the beginning of our caregiving journey.  

At first, Melinda, Dad, and I were looking for resources to help us. Research. Books about disease progression and stages. Lists of strategies to help her. We found some resources, but we quickly realized this journey is about more than Mom’s disease. It is emotionally difficult. It is spiritually draining. It is physically exhausting. Not just for Mom, but for all of us as well. We were looking for a book to encourage us along this difficult journey. Something that acknowledged the reality of Mom’s situation, but also contained some insight into what we were going through as caregivers. We couldn’t find one, so Melinda and I decided to write one.

Her medical perspective as a nurse practitioner gave us tremendous insight on how to navigate the medical parts of this journey. My educational background as a teacher helped us break the information into bite size pieces with specific tasks for processing. The past few years we have made notes of what we wished we had known; what we wished we had been told; and how to process the emotional journey in our own ways. We are excited to finally say our book is now a reality!! It is called Navigating the Caregiver’s Journey: A 52 Week Journal to Help You Process and Reflect. We are so proud of this book!

It is an easy-to-read format that includes a short weekly topic, a devotional section, and questions to ponder in the journal pages. We widened the audience to include anyone who is a long-term caregiver, not just dementia family members. While our experience is with our mom’s specific disease, what we have learned and written is for anyone who needs encouragement while caring for a loved one; a special needs child, a family member with cancer, or any chronic condition such as stroke victims, TBI survivors, or those with physical disabilities from an accident or injury. Any caregiver will benefit from this journal.

We are happy to open Pre-sales this week. Pre-sales is exactly what it sounds like. A time before the actual launch of the book, where you can order your copy and get it first. This allows books stores to gauge interest in the book, and therefore it informs their decision to carry the book or not depending on the numbers ordered in pre-sale. So, for those of you who have been asking when the book will be available…the answer is NOW. Hurray!! Here are the links from which you can order.

Amazon

https://tinyurl.com/CaregiverBookAmazon

Barnes and Noble

https://tinyurl.com/CaregiversBookBarnes

Bookshop

https://tinyurl.com/2nt5n3nv

Abebooks

https://tinyurl.com/yrhf48kb

Some have asked if you can buy in bulk…the answer is yes. Contact one of us if you want more information. In the meantime, forgive us as we blow up social media and shout from the mountain tops our book has been born!!