[et_pb
By Marita Golden
Often as a writer you get “called” or “chosen” by a story and you respond by reporting for duty. When a story has chosen you to become the vehicle for its expression in the world, resistance is futile. That’s how it has been for me and Alzheimer’s disease. As a novelist and journalist, I have become an activist working with one of the nation’s leading advocacy and research organizations, USAgainstAlzheimer’s, meet and get to know a small army of dedicated soldiers in the search for a cure, and compile an anthology to benefit the organization.
My forthcoming book (available for preorder), Us Against Alzheimer’s Stories of Family Love and Faith is a multi-cultural anthology of fiction and nonfiction by acclaimed writers, Alzheimer’s activists, caregivers, family, friends and those with the disease that affirms the endurance of human bonds, loyalty and love in the face of one of the cruelest diseases of our time. All the profits from the sale of the book will go to support the important ground-breaking work of USAgainstAlzheimer’s, a patient- and community-focused nonprofit organization that seeks to accelerate treatments and cures for Alzheimer’s disease by disrupting the status quo, mobilizing stakeholders, and sustaining networks for greater inclusion of segments of society who are over-impacted by the disease, but underserved in the Alzheimer’s movement: women, Latinos, veterans, and African Americans. Through its networks of advocates and researchers, it has a global reach.
Because Alzheimer’s disease impacts 50 million people world-wide, it was important to me as this anthology evolved to include narratives that would reflect this reality. I am very proud that the personal essays and fiction represent the experiences of writers from the United States, as well as from Haiti, Trinidad, India and the Dominican Republic. Several narratives also explore the inner lives and souls of those living with Alzheimer’s and affirm the resilience of the human spirit, even in a physical body and a mind that is in decline, a subject increasingly recognized as important for an understanding of the disease.
I could not have compiled the book without the generosity of the writers who wrote original stories or granted permission for us to reprint earlier work. The writers were uniformly enthusiastic in their support of the book and the larger project of raising funds to support Alzheimer’s research. Us Against Alzheimer’s Stories of Family Love and Faith is ultimately a book that is inspiring and that documents what we hold on to,s even when we fear that all is lost.
About the Author
Marita Golden is the author of 17 works of fiction and nonfiction, an award-winning writer, veteran teacher of writing, and an Alzheimer’s activist.
Connect with Marita:
www.facebook.com/marita.golden
www.maritagolden.com[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
