Guest Post at Physics and Art hosted by Dr. Robert August

Thank you to Dr. Robert August who hosted me today on his fascinating website. In honor of the three-year anniversary edition of A Long and Winding Road, I have shared a guest post called “Music, Jesus, and Alzheimer’s.”

Physics and Art

It’s been three years since I first read Linda’s story and reviewed it here on Physics and Art. I’m thrilled to hear that it is being re-released and am honored to host Linda here on this blog. So without further delay, I’ll hand you over to Linda.

A LONG AND WINDING ROAD:

A CAREGIVER’S TALE OF LIFE, LOVE, AND CHAOS

By Linda Brendle

Blog Tour: July 22nd-August 4th, 2017

Music, Jesus, and Alzheimer’s

Robert, thank you so much for inviting me to be a guest on your fascinating site. After reading your explanation about the connection between science and art, I wanted to share a story about a connection between music and the human brain that science recognizes but has yet to completely explain.

Mom couldn’t read music, but she played the guitar and the piano by ear, and she had a beautiful singing voice. When they were young, she…

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COVER REVEAL: A Long and Winding Road

Revealing the three-year anniversary book cover of A Long and Winding Road: a Caregiver’s Tale of Life, Love, and Chaos.

Anaiah Press

Three years ago, we released our very first book, a memoir entitled, A LONG AND WINDING ROAD: A Caregiver’s Tale of Life, Love, and Chaos. And now, we’re pleased to release a second edition of this book with a brand new cover and fresh edits!

A LONG AND WINDING ROAD: A Caregiver’s Tale of Life, Love, and Chaos is the story of the chaos that happens when four people, two of whom have Alzheimer’s, spend fifty-three days in a 400-square-foot box on wheels.

BLURB:  Alzheimer’s is a family disease, and A Long and Winding Road is a love story—not a boy meets girls love story, but a family love story:

The story of the love of a daughter for her parents and her willingness to take them into her home when they could no longer care for themselves;

The story of a mother and father who loved their daughter…

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Finding Joy | by Linda Brendle

Published in the Rains County Leader on July 25, 2017:

As children, finding joy is as simple as picking a dandelion or coaxing Daddy into being the Tickle Monster for a few minutes. As the years pass, however, joy sometimes becomes more elusive. More joints hurt, more friends develop debilitating or terminal illnesses, and social calendars have more dates for funerals than for weddings. Joy is still possible, but it takes more work, and it sometimes requires an attitude adjustment.

If you’ve spent any time on Facebook, you know it can be a joyless place if you’re not very selective about what you read. Some users post nothing but political tirades and negative news while others give more information than most of us want to know about their long list of medical complaints, medications, and procedures. I’m all for being well informed and also for keeping up with friends and praying for them in their times of need. However, caution is necessary in order to keep all that negativity from sucking all the joy out of life.

A Long and Winding Road – Rerelease and Blog Tour | by Linda Brendle

While we’re waiting for Tatia’s Tattoo, my first novel, to be edited and readied for publication, I have some exciting news about my memoir, A Long and Winding Road: A Caregiver’s Tale of Life, Love, and Chaos. Winding Road was released by Anaiah Press, first as an e-book on July 1, 2014 and then in print in January 6, 2015. In honor of three successful years, Anaiah is releasing an anniversary edition with a new cover and fresh edits.

In case it’s been a while since you read it, or if you missed it the first time around, Winding Road is the story of the chaos that happens when four people, two of whom have Alzheimer’s, spend fifty-three days in a four-hundred-square-foot box on wheels. The publisher put a more detailed description on the back cover:

Sometimes, reality really bites. Alzheimer’s has wrapped Mom’s brain into knots; vascular dementia has attacked dad, and instead of carefree retirees, we have become caregivers. Regardless, dreams die hard, and we somehow stumbled into the purchase of a forty-foot motor home. That’s when all four of us set out on this seven-week trek across sixteen U.S. states. Now, Dad stopped up the toilet again; Mom wet her last pair of clean jeans, and David just announced he was hungry. My head is beginning to pound, and I know this isn’t going to be the easygoing retirement we imagined for ourselves.

Linda Brendle takes you on a roller-coaster ride of emotional and spiritual challenges that many families are facing right now. Co-dependency, mental breakdowns, and finding love after divorce are just a few of the issues weaved into this journey of caregiving.

The release date has not yet been announced, but details will be posted as soon as they are available. In the meantime, if you would be interested in participating in a blog tour sometime between July 22 and August 4, CLICK HERE to sign up.

Thank you for all your support, encouragement, and friendship.

Blessings,

Linda

Dog and cat updates | by Linda Brendle

Published in the Rains County Leader on July 18, 2017:

After reading last week’s column about our exciting first day of dog sitting with Spike, one of my readers commented that she couldn’t wait to read the next chapter. There’s good news and bad news about that. The good news is that Spike and David both behaved themselves while I was away on a weekend retreat. The bad news is that good behavior doesn’t usually make very interesting reading.

Not that he was a complete angel. David didn’t mention any nighttime barking while I was gone, but he has a tendency to sleep more soundly than I do. Spike continued to wake me every night around 3:00 or 3:30 am for no apparent reason other than that he was awake and thought everyone else should be, too. Thankfully, he quieted down pretty quickly. One morning when he waited until 5:00 to make his voice heard, I lay down on the couch – more because I was too tired to walk back to the bedroom than out of compassion for the noisy dog – but most nights I scolded him into silence and went back to bed.

An adventurous first day with Spike | by Linda Brendle

Published in the Rains County Leader on July 11, 2017:

David and I are Spike-sitting again. For those readers who have not been introduced to Spike, he’s a Great Pyrenees mix who likes for us to come over and play when he’s home alone. His people went in different directions this time. She’s on a travel-business river cruise in Europe, and he headed north on road trip, so we’ll be with our furry friend for ten days.

There have been some major changes since our last visit. Kent called on Thursday on his way out of town to let me know that Spike has become a house dog. Although he loves to run around in the woods and the hay fields, he doesn’t tolerate the heat well, so when the triple digit temperatures arrived, he was allowed to come inside during the heat of the day. He behaved so nicely that he has now been invited to spend most of his days – and nights – inside. Not only that, but he has also begun to walk on a leash.

The Button Box | by Linda Brendle

Published in the Rains County Leader on July 4, 2017:

My work day as part-time secretary at Believers’ Baptist Church is flexible. As long as I get the work done, Pastor Jason doesn’t care too much what time I arrive or what time I leave. I try to be at my desk no later than 9:30 so I can accomplish a little something before David and I leave at 11:00 to go to the Senior Center, but I frequently have trouble sticking to my own timetable. There’s always one more chapter to read, a chore I left undone the night before, or some wardrobe malfunction to deal with. Last Friday morning, it was a button.