Thursday, April 2, 2020

Dancing with Dementia (+ Giveaway)


It is a privilege and delight to welcome author, friend and fellow blogger Jemi Fraser to Thoughts in Progress today to share her latest release, DANCING WITH DEMENTIA, Recognizing and Coping with the Early Stages of Dementia with us.

Jemi has honored me by allowing MC Book Tours to host her virtual book tour for this inspiring book. It is a book I feel very strongly about having cared for a loved one with dementia and faced with seeing another one touched by it.

In this crazy world we’re living in at the moment, Jemi has been faced with another problem in coping with dementia, how to see and talk with her mother while not being allowed at the facility. Through Facetime and a great staff at the facility, she is able to keep in touch with her mother despite the difficulty.

DANCING WITH DEMENTIA, Recognizing and Coping with the Early Stages of Dementia
by Jemi Fraser
◊ Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir
◊ Publisher: Just Jemi Books
◊ eBooks
◊ ISBN-13: 978-1-9991258-1-3

Dementia and Alzheimer’s touch the lives of millions around the world, but so much is still unknown.

As first-generation Canadians, we didn’t recognize the early warning signs. We didn’t know the differences between regular aging and the early stages of dementia. We’ve made mistakes but we’ve learned a lot.

DANCING WITH DEMENTIA will help you:
•Identify those early warning signs
•Use visuals to improve communication
•Choose your words wisely
•Redirect and reassure
•Stay calm and cope with your own emotions
•Consider nursing home options
•Improve caregiver self-care

We’ve learned to dance the early steps of the disease with our love and laughter intact. If you are looking for help recognizing early signposts along with practical ways to cope with early Dementia and Alzheimer’s, this book is for you.

DANCING WITH DEMENTIA buy links:
Amazon.com              Amazon.ca          Apple Books       Barnes & Noble          Kobo

Add DANCING WITH DEMENTIA to your Goodreads shelf

Jemi is offering a tour-wide international giveaway of an Amazon Gift Card. More information on the giveaway is listed below. First some information about the book.


Now my thoughts on this heartfelt story though I don’t think I can do it justice with my words.

When dealing with a person who has dementia you don’t always know what to expect, what to do or what to say. Author Jemi Fraser has summed up those feelings, along with some trial and error events, in her release, DANCING WITH DEMENTIA.

The author shares her family’s struggles and bright moments of coming to terms with her mother’s dementia, as well as medical issues faced by her stepfather. In this touching account, the author doesn’t hold back any punches as she explains the journey from realizing what was happening to reaching a new normal where the entire family can be as happy as possible given the circumstance. She notes the struggles of having the disease diagnosed while many of the symptoms can be thought of as just what happens when one gets older.

If you have ever had to or if you are currently carrying for someone with dementia, this is a must read. It will help you understand you’re not alone in the issues you face and the choices you make. If your life hasn’t been touched by this terrible disease, this is a must read. It will help you see the signs and know what some of the hurdles you can face will be.

The author has also shared the humor and delight that can still be found when faced with this disease. She explains that laughter is sometimes the only way to go to help you cope with what you are faced with.

There are tips and helpful hints throughout the book. The author has laid her heart on the line sharing the ups and downs her family has faced and continues to face.

This is a heartfelt, tender story that needed to be told and shared as more and more face this situation. The author shares this story with insight and gentleness while faced with a difficult personal experience. You may need a box of tissue handy if you are tender-hearted as the author takes you on a profound journey into how dementia impacts not only the individual, but their family and friends.

Author Jemi Fraser
For those who aren’t familiar with the author, here’s a bit of background on her.

Jemi Fraser writes both fiction and nonfiction. Her nonfiction work focuses on the ways that dementia has impacted her family. Her fiction work varies from contemporary romance to suspense and flash fiction. Years as a teacher have taught Jemi that life is short and that happy endings are a must.

Jemi lives in Northern Ontario, Canada where snow is always a topic of conversation and the autumn leaves make everything better.

For more on Jemi and her writing, visit her following sites:

Amazon Page        BookBub      Goodreads       Facebook       Twitter       Quick Tips Videos


GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

This tour-wide giveaway is for a $20 Amazon Gift Card. The giveaway is open internationally.

To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient. If the widget doesn’t show up, just click HERE and you’ll be directed to the widget.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to follow Jemi on her week-long tour HERE. You never know what you might find out. I hope dementia hasn’t touch your family or friends, but in case it has do you have any tips to share on dealing with this terrible disease?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

25 comments:

  1. Hi Mason and Jemi - I'm sure this book will really enlighten readers to learn more ... any understanding of Dementia will help those carers or family members struggling with a loved on. Good luck ... and take care in this day and age - Hilary

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    1. Thanks, Hilary. It really is a tough disease. I'm so thankful for mom's nursing home staff who truly care about her.

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  2. As with any care-giving situation, learn to ask for help, and remember to take care of yourself. Dementia is a thief--"the long goodbye". Everyone has their own way of dealing with of grief, and the stress of watching a loved one deteriorate before your eyes is overwhelming. Advice and shared experiences from someone like Jemi Fraser can be of immeasurable comfort. Take care everyone!

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    1. The long goodbye is so accurate! I wish we'd known more when dementia slammed into us. Knowing we're not alone is a biggie!

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  3. It sounds like such a powerful story! And for caregivers, it's so good to know that others are facing the same challenges. It's helpful for the rest of us to gain an understanding, too, of what it's like. Thanks for sharing, both.

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    1. It really helps to know we're not alone and to share tips!

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  4. Much needed since sadly dementia is on the rise.

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  5. I have cared for two family members with dementia and I know that a book like yours is needed. Good luck with it!
    https://paulettesharkey.com/books/

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    1. Thanks so much, Paulette! There is far too much dementia in our world - and it's only becoming a bigger problem!

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  6. I have had experience with early onset dementia with my father-in-law. Your book is so helpful and needed. Many thanks.

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    1. Thanks, Traveler. It's a tough disease! Hoping it will help people!

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  7. Thank you, Mason, for helping me out with this tour and this amazing review!
    I hope this book will be an asset for those facing the early steps!!

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  8. If you're going to write a book like this, laying your heart on the line is the only way to do it. Then people know you are real. (Even as it pains one to write it.)

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    1. It really had some painful moments, Diane - so hard to relive some of the harder times!!!

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  9. We haven't had to deal with a family member suffering from dementia so far but it's good to know that resources like this book are available should we ever need them. Thanks.

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    1. I'm so glad to hear that - and I hope it stays that way for you and yours! It's nice to know dementia hasn't impacted every family :)

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  10. Awesome review, Mason! Jemi's provided a great service to all of us.

    Thank you, Jemi!

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    1. Thanks so much! I appreciate all of your kind words and support, ladies!!

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  11. I remember the struggles my family went through with my great-grandmother's dementia when I was very young. It made a huge impression.

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    1. Wow - I bet it did! It's a powerful - and devastating - disease!!

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  12. Hi,
    I definitely think the author's humour helped them deal with the situations facing them. Sometimes, we have to look beyond and although she didn't say it like that, I feel they looked beyond and went with the punches as they came. I believe that is all you can do with people who are suffering from this crippling sickness.

    Shalom aleichem,
    Pat Garcia

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    1. That is an excellent analogy - and just what it feels like! Thanks!

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  13. Sounds both heart-breaking and inspiring.

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    1. Thanks Lady Fi - there are definitely heart-breaking moments!

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I'd love to hear your thoughts on today's post. Thanks for dropping by.