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Losing Us: A Dementia Caregiver's Journey
Losing Us: A Dementia Caregiver's Journey is a candid, compassionate and sometimes humorous memoir of Author Rosella Leslie’s heartbreaking struggles and triumphs during her twelve years as her husband’s primary caregiver. It is also an informal guide to dementia caregiving, including links to helpful resources for caregivers, their friends, families and communities. The poems that begin and end each chapter capture the frustration and sorrow of her husband’s ever-shifting cognitive abilities and the emotional rollercoaster Leslie rides, rising to heights of acceptance, joy and resolve, then plunging to valleys of guilt, doubt and despair. She urges caregivers to accept dark thoughts and harsh feelings as a natural response to being in an impossible situation, and to keep putting one foot in front of the other as they move toward the faint light of hope that shines at the end of this very dark tunnel.
204 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 22, 2022
1 person want to read
About the author
Rosella M. Leslie
8 booksAlthough I was born in Edmonton my childhood was spent in small towns of central Alberta, north central British Columbia, the Fraser Valley and the Sunshine Coast.In 1967 I graduated from Elphinstone Senior Secondary School in Gibsons, BC. Post secondary education included training as a Medical Records Technician.
Having decided to make writing the focus of my life, in the fall of 1980 I moved into a rent-free floathouse at Clowhom Falls, a small settlement 25 miles by boat from Sechelt,BC. There I began plunking out stories on an ancient Remington manual typewriter. Since then I have attended writing festivals, workshops with Ian Slater and Daniel Wood, and on-going tutorials with Betty C. Keller and the Quintessential Writing Group.
In 1986 I won the BC Writer's Federation, Best of BC Writing Competiton. My feature articles and fictional stories have been published in Western People Magazine Fiction, The Leader, Alive Magazine and Coast News Weekender.> I am a co-author with Betty Keller of , and (Horsdal & Schubart, 1996), for which we won third prize in the 1997 BC Historical Writing Competition. In 2005 I was also a co-author of (Harbour Publishing),which won the Roderick Haig Brown Regional Prize. A year later I published my first novel, (NeWest Press).
Today I live on the Sunshine Coast where I write, hike, garden, and fish the local inlets with my husband, John, and sometimes with my son, Nathan.
Having decided to make writing the focus of my life, in the fall of 1980 I moved into a rent-free floathouse at Clowhom Falls, a small settlement 25 miles by boat from Sechelt,BC. There I began plunking out stories on an ancient Remington manual typewriter. Since then I have attended writing festivals, workshops with Ian Slater and Daniel Wood, and on-going tutorials with Betty C. Keller and the Quintessential Writing Group.
In 1986 I won the BC Writer's Federation, Best of BC Writing Competiton. My feature articles and fictional stories have been published in Western People Magazine Fiction, The Leader, Alive Magazine and Coast News Weekender.> I am a co-author with Betty Keller of , and (Horsdal & Schubart, 1996), for which we won third prize in the 1997 BC Historical Writing Competition. In 2005 I was also a co-author of (Harbour Publishing),which won the Roderick Haig Brown Regional Prize. A year later I published my first novel, (NeWest Press).
Today I live on the Sunshine Coast where I write, hike, garden, and fish the local inlets with my husband, John, and sometimes with my son, Nathan.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 23, 2022
I have had the privilege of reading this book twice.
It is a strong book, a journey through an emotionscape that jolts the reader into awareness of the dementia caregiver’s reality. For those folk who are on the same path, this is a book filled with the sorrow and joy of the journey. It is also filled with helpful tools and resources. For those who are watching a friend or loved one on the journey, this book will enlighten you as to what is happening in their world, and suggest positive ways to help.
It is available through Kobo, Amazon and Chapters/Indigo.
Go ahead. You will be so glad you did!
It is a strong book, a journey through an emotionscape that jolts the reader into awareness of the dementia caregiver’s reality. For those folk who are on the same path, this is a book filled with the sorrow and joy of the journey. It is also filled with helpful tools and resources. For those who are watching a friend or loved one on the journey, this book will enlighten you as to what is happening in their world, and suggest positive ways to help.
It is available through Kobo, Amazon and Chapters/Indigo.
Go ahead. You will be so glad you did!
March 5, 2023
A lovely book about the author’s journey alongside her husband as he becomes affected by dementia. Humor and despair along with sound practical advice make this book a good read.
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January 3, 2024Actually, 3 1/2. This is a very interesting, frustrating, and heartbreaking book. It has an excellent resource section for caregivers at the back.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews