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This week, Rayna Neises, your host, speaks with Jean Lee. Jean was working full-time as a teacher when both of her parents were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Her first book, Alzheimer’s Daughter, is a memoir of her journey balancing her teaching responsibilities with her caregiving journey. Through her writing experience, she connected with other authors of Alzheimer’s books and co-founded AlzAuthors.com. After seven years, the group is over 300 voices strong sharing personal experiences of their caregiving journey. Jean shares the following insights and information about the support available: 

• (1:53)  Keeping a journal can help you talk about specifics and the frequency of behaviors. It can also help at doctor’s visits and show a progression of the disease.
• (4:11)  Reading books about similar experiences can help you realize that you can survive the journey.
• (14:00)  When reading about others’ journeys, although none of it is identical, we gain compassion for what somebody else is going through. The stories and books can also help light the way through your dark journey.
• (16:03)  AlzAuthors books are all written from personal experience/have a personal twist:  
  • Memoirs
  • Caregiver guides
  • Fiction
  •  Children and Teens
  • Poetry
  •  Quick Reads
  • Art
• (22:26)  AlzAuthors shares blogs offering support in the now. 
• (23:09)  AlzAuthors has added a podcast, Untangling Alzheimer’s, so people can listen on the go.
• (25:43)  Visit AlzAuthors.com to find the podcast, blog posts, and links to purchase books.