By Marianne Sciucco, New York, USA
This event is being repeated on Tuesday, October 24 at 10:30 am EST. Register here.
Please join us for an inspiring event with five of our authors currently living with dementia who will share their stories, allowing us to enter a portal into the world of living with cognitive impairment.
Date: Friday, September 1, 2023, at 10:30 am EST, via Zoom
This is a reunion of five authors who came together on June 15, 2021 to talk about their diagnoses, how they cope with their conditions, manage to keep active and vital, maintain a positive attitude, and much more. We wanted to get together two years later to see how their lives have changed since we first met.
It may be helpful to catch the replays of the previous event on our podcast or YouTube channel prior to the update.
Register here for meeting link.
There is no fee to attend, but donations are welcome. Please donate here.
The event will be recorded and added to our podcast and YouTube channels. Please register to receive notice of when the recordings go live.
Meet Our Panelists:
Peter Berry ran the family’s timber business for decades before being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at age 50. He immediately stopped working and fell into a deep depression. After some time, he realized that he still had a life to live, overcame his depression, and now fills his days with cycling across the English countryside with his friends, and advocating for those with dementia in his community and on social media. To date he has raised more than £20,000 for dementia charities through cycling challenges. He tells his story in Slow Puncture: Living Well with Dementia, with Deb Bunt. His second book, Walk with Me: Musings Through the Dementia Fog, also with Deb Bunt, was published in December 2021. Read more about Peter here, here, and here. Listen to our podcast with Peter.
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Jennifer Bute, FRCGP worked in Africa as a doctor before working as a GP (Family Doctor) in England for 25 years and was involved in medical education. Diagnosed with dementia more than ten years ago, she speaks at conferences and on radio and has been involved in television programs raising awareness and understanding of dementia. She passionately believes more can be done to improve both the present and the future for those living with these conditions. She is the author of Dementia from the Inside: A Doctor’s Personal Journey of Hope. Her website GloriousOpportunity.org includes videos where she discusses different aspects of the condition, and she also blogs on Facebook at Glorious Opportunity. Read more about Jennifer here and here. Listen to our podcast with Jennifer.
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Michael Ellenbogen was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 49, after experiencing symptoms for 10 years. This led to an early retirement from his career in information technology. Following his diagnosis, he has become an outspoken advocate for those with dementia and has written articles and blog posts in addition to his book, From the Corner Office to Alzheimer’s. He has appeared on podcasts and television and has testified before the United States Congress. Read more about Michael here and here. Listen to our podcast with Michael.
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Wendy Mitchell started a blog, Which Me Am I Today? after being diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia in 2014. She was 58. Her blog eventually became a memoir, Somebody I Used to Know. Her second book, What I Wish People Knew About Dementia: From Someone Who Knows, was published in early 2022, and her third (and final, she says) book, One Last Thing: How to live with the end in mind, was released this past June. Wendy is active in the dementia community, participating in workshops and lectures across England. She has a very active Twitter presence, which she calls her lifeline. Read more about Wendy here, here and here. Listen to our podcast with Wendy.
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Gerda Saunders was the Associate Director of and taught in the Gender Studies Program at the University of Utah; she also taught gender and literature courses in the English Department. At the age of 61, she was diagnosed with cerebral microvascular disease, a precursor to dementia. She retired a year later. She maintains an active lifestyle, writing and speaking about the disease in a variety of settings. She is the author of Memory’s Last Breath: Field Notes on My Dementia, and blogs at My Life with Dementia. Her story was featured in a PBS Utah documentary, The Gerda that Remains, available here. Read more about Gerda here. Listen to our podcast with Gerda.
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Note: all book links go to Amazon.com, earning us a small commission on sales which will cost you nothing.
Register here for meeting link.
Meet Our Moderators
Marianne Sciucco, author of Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s love story. Marianne is a co-founder of AlzAuthors, manager, director, podcast host and producer, and acquisitions editor. Learn more about Marianne here.
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Christy Byrne Yates, author of Building a Legacy of Love: Thriving in the Sandwich Generation. Christy is a podcast host and producer, and manager of our YouTube channel. Learn more about Christy here.
Register here for meeting link.
Questions?
Contact [email protected].
