AlzAuthors: Untangling Alzheimer's & Dementia

Robin Perini is an award-winning author of heart-stopping suspense and poignant romance novels. When not writing she works for an advanced technology corporation. When not writing or working she helps care for her mother who has Alzheimer’s and lives just across the street with Robin’s father. An advocate for Alzheimer’s education, Robin has woven the topic into two of her novels, “Forgotten Secre...

Michael Ellenbogen was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 49. Prior to his diagnosis, Michael was a network operations manager for a Fortune 500 financial institution until difficulty with work-related tasks led to an unwanted early retirement. He is a passionate, outspoken dementia advocate who pulls no punches. In this episode we discuss the trials of seeking a medical diagnosi...

Lisa Skinner is the author of "Not All Who Wander Need Be Lost,," a caregiver guide full of real-life stories and practical advice. Her dementia journey started when she was a teen and her grandmother displayed bizarre behaviors, diagnosed as senile dementia. At the time, resources for families were practically nonexistent and she dedicated her life to becoming an advocate and ally for those on th...

Irene Frances Olson writes both fiction and non-fiction, the latter of which can be found on her personal blog "Baby Boomers and More," also known as "Living: the ultimate team sport." Ms. Olson is also a feature writer for "Grandparents Day Magazine," where she has her own byline: IN YOUR CORNER Much of Irene's early non-fiction pieces found on her personal blog focus on a family caregiver's jour...

Today’s guest is Kathryn Harrison, who is not only an AlzAuthor but our Creative Director and a member of our management team. Kathryn was compelled to create her award-winning children’s book "Weeds in Nana’s Garden" following her mother’s passing from frontotemporal dementia in 2010. During her family’s journey with the disease, Kathryn noticed how much involving her two young children in caregi...

When her beloved mother, Doris, was diagnosed with dementia in 2006, Loretta Woodward Veney began learning everything she could about the disease and hoped to share that information so others could be more prepared than she was for this devastating diagnosis. In 2013, that hope turned into Loretta's first book, "Being My Mom’s Mom: A Journey Through Dementia from a Daughter’s Perspective," which h...

Gincy Heins became caregiver to her husband at the age of 49 when he was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, also known as MCI, a neurological condition that causes a slight but noticeable and measurable decline in cognitive abilities. Memory and thinking skills are primarily affected, and there is a very real possibility of future Alzheimer’s or other dementia. At the time, he was just 55....

Wendy Mitchell was diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia in 2014 at the age of 58. At the time she worked for Britain’s National Health Service as a non-clinical team leader. Her diagnosis led to an early retirement. Post diagnosis, she was shocked by the lack of awareness surrounding young-onset dementia in both the community and the clinical world, and started a blog, Whic...

In our inaugural episode of Untangling Alzheimer's & Dementia, an AlzAuthors Podcast, Christopher MacLellan welcomes podcast host Marianne Sciucco for a preview. The podcast is featured on the Whole Care Network and will showcase a new author each week who shares their personal story to help those living with the disease, or who are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia. About th...