I’ve been asked several questions about my writing. For instance, how did I come to write the genre of creative nonfiction after so many years of professional writing? How did I decide to use animal characters? Why do I use a pen name? The answer … it’s a long story, some of which I will explain in short segments.
Segment #1
“Traveling Our Road,” is the result of an ongoing series of magical events that started about 6 months before Dave succumbed to early onset Alzheimer’s disease from which we both suffered for over 18 years. About a year before his death, when Dave was in the late stage of the disease, my, then, 2 ½ year old Grandson, Joey, was afraid of Dave because his Grandpa’s odd behaviors,lack of facial expression and inability to walk or talk. Joey’s revulsion broke my heart. I became passionate about creating a way to make a positive connection between the two. Realizing that Joey had never seen Dave any other way, I wrote a storybook for him about his Grandpa pre dating the Alzheimer’s diagnosis when Dave was active and handsome. I paired pictures of Dave engaged in fun activities with pictures of Winnie the Pooh characters doing similar things using the tag line “Dave used to (swim, boat, hike, horseback ride, go to parties, etc.) just like Eeyore, Tigger, or Christopher Robin,” etc. I titled this simple book, “Dave’s Tale.” And ... voila, my communication intervention was successful, bringing Dave and Joey together as they sat, sitting close, looking at the book and listening to me while I read the story.
Comments