Dance with Me

  I’m releasing another book, and it’s not for everyone. It’s a memoir about my mother’s Alzheimer’s Disease and it encompasses the: frustration, guilt, fear, resentment and discouragement a daughter (me) experiences when she watches her mother’s decline. It’s also about dancing.

  Mother started dancing as her inhibitions diminished with her disease. Her caretakers have been known to call her the Dancing Queen! Did you know that dancing releases endorphins, the ‘feel good’ chemicals in our body? Dancing has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, something we could all benefit from, right? I’m not saying she’s ready for the stage, but you’d be impressed by her shimmy.

  My mother is one of 5 million Americans living with this disease. If you’re like me, that number means nothing to you. My mother, on the other hand, means everything to me. This is our story. It was difficult to write and “our song” continues to play. The memory care she lives in is on lockdown from the Corona virus.
  Do you know what a virtual hug looks like?
  An aide arranged a video chat for us. When Mom saw me on the screen, her eyes filled with tears, she reached for the phone, and then pulled it to her chest. I could almost touch the individual cotton fibers of her shirt. Next the phone traveled upward, allowing me a close-up of the parchment-thin skin on her neck and the lavender-colored veins running under its surface. She held me against her neck for some time, murmuring words that didn’t make any sense. It didn’t matter if I didn’t know what she said…I felt the love.
  
 Dance with Me is available on Amazon. 

  If you are interested in the book, would you write a review? If you have a loved one with Alzheimers, include any tips you have for staying connected to someone who is disappearing before your eyes. I’d appreciate any ideas. Truly.