Patti Davis Untangles Lessons Learned While Floating in Dementia's Deep End  artwork
AlzAuthors: Untangling Alzheimer's & Dementia

Patti Davis Untangles Lessons Learned While Floating in Dementia's Deep End

  • S2022E63
  • 56:16
  • May 2nd 2022

Patti Davis is an actress, author, activist, advocate, and daughter of a United States president. She has written extensively about her father, Ronald Reagan, and his Alzheimer’s disease in both The Long Goodbye and now Floating in the Deep End. In 2011, she created a support group program for caregivers of people with dementia, called Beyond Alzheimer's. Floating in the Deep End is an extension of that support group — a handbook for those on the perilous and sorrowful journey of losing a loved one to this mysterious disease. It is also part memoir, as many of the memories of her own dementia journey have taken on a different resonance with time and reflection. She hopes that caregivers and readers find guidance and comfort in this book.

In this episode we discuss both the challenges and comforts of living your Alzheimer’s journey in full view of the world, her approach to building caregiver support groups, and the lessons and gifts that can be found in dementia care.

Please leave a review and share this podcast with a caregiver or loved one on a dementia journey.

After the podcast

Read Patti’s AlzAuthors post:

Patti Davis Pens Heartfelt Memoir/Caregiver Guide, Floating in The Deep End

Start reading Floating in the Deep End now. 

Purchase The Long Goodbye

Note: These links lead to Amazon.com. We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales.

Discussion Points

Glen Campbell

Tony Bennet 60 Minutes

Connect with Patti Davis

Website

Twitter

Facebook

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About the Podcast

AlzAuthors is the global community of authors writing about Alzheimer’s and dementia from personal experience to light the way for others. Our podcast introduces you to our authors who share their stories and insights to provide knowledge, comfort, and support. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you, please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends on their own dementia journeys.

We are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please donate here.

Ideas and opinions expressed in this podcast belong to the speakers and not AlzAuthors. Always consult your healthcare provider and legal and financial consultants for advice on any of the topics covered here.

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AlzAuthors: Untangling Alzheimer's & Dementia

Welcome to the AlzAuthors podcast! We’re so glad you found us. We are the global community of authors writing about Alzheimer's and dementia from personal experience to light the way for others. Join us each week as one of our authors shares their dementia journey, revealing intimate details and painfully obtained knowledge to help others currently on this path. We hope our stories offer comfort and support as we strive to break the silence and stigma surrounding a dementia diagnosis. May one of our authors speak to your experience. For more info please visit https://alzauthors.com.

Ideas and opinions expressed in this podcast belong to the speakers and not AlzAuthors. Always consult your healthcare provider and legal and financial consultants for advice on any of the topics covered here.


Meet Our Hosts

Marianne Sciucco avatar
Marianne Sciucco
Podcast Producer and Host

Marianne Sciucco is a registered nurse, dementia daughter, and author of the novel Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s love story, based on a couple she met through her work. It is a testament to the power of love in the face of this heart-wrenching disease. Marianne cared for hundreds of dementia patients over a 20+-year nursing career. She provided care to her stepfather during his dementia journey, and witnessed the painful decline of four beloved aunts to the disease. She's a founding member of AlzAuthors, sits on the Board, and is a director and manager. She can talk about AlzAuthors all day.

Christy Byrne Yates avatar
Christy Byrne Yates
Co-host and Producer

Christy Byrne Yates is a Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP), retired school psychologist, author, speaker and coach/consultant. Her book, Building a Legacy of Love: Thriving in the Sandwich Generation recounts her journey as a working mother of two who also managed the care of her parents, both of whom had some form of dementia. Combining her lived experience with her professional expertise in human development, wellness and a strengths based approach to finding solutions, Christy develops content, workshops and coaching to support Sandwiched families. She incorporates meditation, mindfulness and other evidence based mind/body practices into her work. She’s worked with care communities, financial professionals, estate planners and employers. Christy has a master’s degree in counseling psychology, and graduate credentials in both education and school psychology.

Support Us

AlzAuthors is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. The podcast is one way we provide knowledge, comfort, and support to busy caregivers desperate for information. Your generosity will help us to continue our mission to lift the silence and stigma that often accompanies a dementia diagnosis. Please consider making a donation. Thank you.