About

Our story begins

When my husband was 55-years-old, he was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) which we were told could possibly lead to Alzheimer’s. We’d never heard of this and incorrectly thought that Alzheimer’s was something that only happened to people over 80-years-old. I was a stay-at-home mom, volunteering with PTA and Boy Scouts and we had a son in junior high school. My husband was working at the time of his diagnosis in December 2009, but was put on disability by his employer shortly after the receiving the news, and had to retire from his dream job a year later.

Making lemon bars out of lemons

I did what most people do these days and jumped onto Google to research MCI. I was immediately confused by everything I read. I found Alzheimer’s Orange County, and through them learned about how to care for my husband and how to be a better caregiver.

Because of our journey, I have been given so many opportunities I would not have otherwise had. I have become a public speaker and author and have been a guest on several podcasts.

With four other caregivers and past caregivers, I have co-authored the 365 Caregiving Tips books. We have currently published four books, two of which are also available in Spanish.

Watching how people treated my husband once they knew about his diagnosis, I saw a need for a book about people and who they were prior to their diagnosis. The first anthology, Before the Diagnosis: Stories of Life and Love Before Dementia contains stories by 36 authors, each about a relative they have known and loved before that person was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia. 100% of the sales of the books are split between Alzheimer’s Orange County, Lewy Body Dementia Association, Alzheimer’s Association, and Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation

Before the Diagnosis: More Stories of Life and Love Before Dementia was released March 2022. The stories of the 23 individuals in this book introduce us to more people with a life worth remembering. 100% of the sales of this book go directly to Alzheimer’s Orange County. In addition to writing an essay about his father, Adam S Doyle donated the beautiful cover art for this book.

As part of caring for myself, since that’s what caregivers are always told to do, I enjoy working in the garden, baking and sending the goodies to our son, and reading cozy mysteries where everyday women like myself always catch the murderer!