Testament to the Human Spirit

Yesterday a friend who read my out-of-print Alzheimer’s book stopped me to say how much it meant to her. She said it took her past the label into the humanness of those suffering with the disease. Bless her heart, she didn’t know her words came just when my revision project, The Third Floor, Tales from Our Teachers on the Alzheimer’s Unit, was slumping into author despair.

I thanked her and returned to work with renewed faith in the project’s value. Whether newly-diagnosed individual, caregiver or staff, family member or friend, all those who have been touched by experience with dementia, need every encouragement available in order to keep their own hearts open. Hope, that feathery thing, is so fragile. My friend spoke directly to my deepest hope, that The Third Floor may be a testament to the human spirit of individuals facing any form of dementia.