By Marianne Sciucco, New York
Susan J. Farese, MSN, RN is the author of Poetic Expressions in Nursing: Sharing the Caring, poems written when she became a nurse poet in the 1990’s. Heartbreaking memories of losing her grandmother, Ann, to early onset Alzheimer’s when she was a young teen inspired her first poem, Ann’s Zest Ends.
In this episode, we discuss how witnessing her grandmother’s decline as a child profoundly impacted her even 50 years later, why a chance scene in a movie inspired her to start writing poetry, and the value of poetry as expression for nurses and caregivers.
April is National Poetry Month
Join us on April 18th at 2 pm when we present Poetry for the Dementia Journey, an AlzAuthors Live! Virtual Q&A featuring several of our poets. Subscribe to our website at alzauthors.com to receive notice of these events.
About Susan
A native of New Jersey, Susan has decades of experience in health care and communications, including military and civilian nursing practice, management, education/training, public speaking, research, aånd consulting. She is owner/president of SJF Communications, based in San Diego, California. SJF Communications provides public relations, marketing, social media, websites, writing, filmmaking, acting, public speaking, mentoring and photography. She currently teaches “Capturing Your Creativity with Haiku” workshops and has published poetry and articles on a variety of topics.
In addition to being on the advisory board of San Diego Film Week, Susan is a member of SAG-AFTRA, American Legion Post 43, Veterans in Media & Entertainment, San Diego Writers Ink the San Diego Press Club, the Southern California Writers Association, the Army Nurse Corps Association. Since 2017, she has been a Mentor in San Diego State University’s Aztec MentorProgram.
Her passions include birdwatching, nature photography, writing/poetry, as well as film/tv/theatre. She is in awe of hummingbirds, seahorses, heart-shaped items/art and the colors purple and teal. She lives in sunny San Diego with her husband Mike, daughter Emmy, and is also a human caregiver to her family’s geriatric tuxedo cat Chloe Marie and Betta Fish Alvin Danny Boy.
After the Podcast
Read Susan’s AlzAuthors post: Susan J. Farese Reflects on Alzheimer’s and Nursing in Poetry
Purchase Poetic Expressions in Nursing: Sharing the Caring
Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales.
Listen to Susan read Ann’s Zest Ends, her tribute to her grandmother, on Audible
Connect with Susan
Facebook Business Page
Instagram @sjfcommo
Twitter @sjfcommo
Contact: sjfcommunications@gmail.com
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About the Podcast
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2 Responses
Thanks so much for sharing this
You are incredible and a real inspiration
Is it possible to send out the poem for Caregivers
I would love to share it with my support groups
Yes, thank you so much Sandra. Here is my blog post including the poem “Caregiver” : https://sjfcommunications.com/2014/11/18/caregiver-a-poem/
Let me know if that helps!