Tag Archives: dementia

February 1, 2023 · 7:00 am

Dream Heist by Christina Farley (Book Review)

 

Your dreams are no longer safe…

Eighteen-year-old Aria Hale loves her job at her father’s dream therapy company where she enters dementia patients’ dreams to save their memories. But when their lab is ransacked, two technicians are murdered, and her father is kidnapped, everything changes for her.

Determined to find her father, Aria and her friends embark on a harrowing hunt across continents using the dreams of their enemies to guide them. But this dangerous journey plunges her into a world she never bargained for: deception, intrigue, and even love. As she races to save her father and hunt down her enemies, she soon realizes she’s in fact the one being hunted. And her dreams are the greatest danger of all.

In the vein of Inception meets The Bourne Identity, THE DREAM HEIST propels readers into fast-paced adventure that will have you racing to the very end.

Amazon Purchase Link

 

 


I received a complimentary copy of this book from R&R Book Tours.
I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

A person must treat dream walking as one would time traveling, observe but don’t interact. You need to get in and get out unnoticed. Aria broke her father’s rule. She broke more than one. She knew patient 145 identity and didn’t take fade out of the Dreamscape. Her rule-breaking did, in the end, become their saving grace.

Dr. Hale created MaxLife with good intentions. He wanted to help restore the memories of dementia patients. However, others saw his technology as a way to fatten their bank accounts. 

There was a blossoming romance between two eighteen-year-old high schoolers, but they only kissed. Their connection was crucial to stopping their adversaries in their trackers. 

The methods they used to stop the “bad guys” will intrigue those in the tech world. It’ll be right up the alley of those whose favorite genre is science fiction. 

If you’re a gamer, you’ll like Jake’s private workstation and gaming ideas. Comics fans might like it too! 

Murder. Explosions. Kidnappings. Poison. Humor. Suspense. Action. Adventure. Vivid dream sequences. These ten things made Dream Heist a book I’ll want to read more than once, and hopefully, you too. It also made me rethink ever joining a sleep study test. 🙂

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤

Amazon Purchase Link

 

 

Meet the Author

Farley jpg

CHRISTINA FARLEY is the author of the bestselling Gilded series, THE PRINCESS AND THE PAGE, and THE DREAM HEIST. Prior to that, she worked as an international teacher and at a top secret job for Disney where she was known to scatter pixie dust before the sun rose. When not traveling the world or creating imaginary ones, she spends time with her family in Clermont, Florida with her husband and two sons where they are busy preparing for the next World Cup, baking cheesecakes, and raising a pet dragon that’s in disguise as a cockatiel. Visit her online at ChristinaFarley.com.

Christina Farley | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

 

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 1, 2022 · 7:00 am

Love Is Love: Picture Book for Gay and Lesbian (LGBTQ) People with Dementia by Laurette Klier (Book Review)

 

Love Is Love is a beautifully curated collection of 21 vintage photographs paired with 21 classic love poems to engage and delight LGBTQ elders living with dementia. Nostalgic poetry is an invitation into the past with representation, compassion, and joy. Love Is Love invites conversation and connection, to affirm identity and awaken the spirit within. Designed to read aloud, read along, to share as a ‘picture walk’ with a friend, neighbor, family member, or allied health professional.


The NANA’S BOOKS series is recommended by ALZ Authors and ALZ Speaks. Featured resources in the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Teal Room, NANA’S BOOKS are the winner of a Maude’s Award for Innovation in Dementia Care for Making Connections.

 

Amazon Purchase Link

 

 

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Reedsy Discovery.  I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

Love Is Love: Picture Book for Gay and Lesbian (LGBTQ) People with Dementia by Laurette Klier is a heartfelt mixture of poetry and black/white/gray photography. 

Laurette Klier chose poems written by notorious authors in the literary field, such as Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Lord Byron, expressing love between partners in same-sex relationships. Even without the poetry, the love is evident in every single photo. 

A subtle touch. 

A kiss. 

A twinkle in their eye.

A laugh. 

A loving embrace. 

Some photographs also captured couples in a more serious manner, but expressionless faces were the norm in certain periods. 

No matter the tone of the photographs, it was lovely to see a collection featuring same-sex couples from years past. 

My favorite male/male image was of the two gentlemen wearing hats and smoking cigars. They have a look on their face where I imagine they’re holding back laughter, and once the photo was taken, they break out in boisterous laughter. They also have a mischievous look in their eyes. I bet these two men have/had a lot of fun in life.

My favorite female/female photo is the neighbors kissing over their shared fence. I wonder how many times did they meet there? Did anyone know of their passion? I can almost hear their giggles when they call for each other. The woman with one foot up is posed in a famous romance swoon position. Love it! 

I loved all the works of art, textual and visual. 

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤❤

Amazon Purchase Link

 

 

 

Meet the Author

 

Nana’s Books is an award-winning series designed to engage and delight people living with dementia and their care partners through nostalgic art and verse. Nana’s Books are crafted to ease conversation and to awaken the spirit within. Nana’s Books bring back connection… one page at a time.

Reedsy Link

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 10, 2021 · 7:00 am

Does Grandma Remember Me? by Evita Sherman (Book Review)

DOES GRANDMA REMEMBER ME? by Evita Sherman

Children’s Fiction (Ages 3-7),  38 pages

 
It is always challenging to watch a loved one grow older and face new, confusing obstacles that always seemed easy. Does Grandma Remember Me? shows how love transcends age and difficulties, even when things become overwhelming.
 
This new book from author Evita Sherman is the first in a new children’s book series. It will put the disease of Alzheimer’s and dementia in perspective for young readers.
 
Buy the Book
Amazon ~ B&N ~ Target
Mascot Books
Add to Goodreads
 
 
 
I received a complimentary copy of this book from
I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
 
Dementia is a very grown-up word for kids to grasp. Most little ones wouldn’t know how to pronounce it, let alone define it. While the condition’s ins and outs are far from simple, Evita Sherman breaks it down so children can understand the basics: forgetfulness and confusion. 
 
Through the endearing illustrations courtesy of Chayla Bolden and Evita Sherman’s storytelling, we witness the fear, confusion, sadness, and love from a child’s point of view and a grandmother’s. Does Grandma Remember Me? gives children hope. While they might be scared by specific situations, they are now more prepared to handle them. Hugs, kisses, holding a hand, all these small gestures go a long way in lifting spirits and binding two hearts. 
 
If dementia affected someone you know and you’re unsure how to explain it to your child(ren), I encourage you to read this story with them. I’m sure after reading it, they’ll run off to hug their grandparent. <3
 
 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤❤
 
 
 
 
Meet the Author
Author Evita Sherman
 
Evita’s passion is assisting the elderly, especially those living with dementia. Her mission is to help people age in the manner they envision for themselves and not through the lens of others. She works to provide data and resources to assist elders in effectively aging-in-place and equips their families and friends to support their loved ones amidst uncertainty. Working in the elder care field as a licensed nursing home administrator, senior living marketing professional, and Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS), Evita witnesses both elders and families make tough decisions. Some of those decisions result in despair, while others result in healing. The key to enabling elders to live life to its fullest is to help them find their voices and exercise their right to choose.
 
Evita collaborates with family and friends to ensure that her mother, who lives with dementia, and her father, recently diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, maintain their voices and make well-informed choices as their disease progresses.

connect with the author: goodreads
 

 
 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 30, 2019 · 5:00 am

Troika: A Supernatural Short Story by Bibiana Krall (Book Review)

A normal day in the Deep South turns into a nightmare, as Chantal discovers that beauty and terror trace the fault lines between life and death. She fights to understand why a good woman, her friend Aida is stricken with a debilitating illness that steals her mind and reason. When Aida’s terrifying visions are revealed, what price does it have when it’s shared with Chantal? 

 
 Take a walk on the dark side, where existence is fragile and knowledge of the after-life can cross over and become frighteningly real and physically dangerous to anyone who knows the truth. Make it a summer to remember with a fantastic new story from Black Calyx Books!
 
 
 
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 

Dementia is a scary illness. It weakens the mind and body. People with the affliction are aware their time is limited, and there’s no cure. Loss of motor function, loss of memory, and hallucinations are just a few symptoms a person faces with this terrible illness. Again, it’s a sad and frightening illness.


Bibiana wrote about the fears and heartache of having Dementia from a sufferer’s point of view and a friend’s as well.


She focused a lot of time on hallucinations. Were the three people Aida saw real or the result of her disease? To avoid spoilers, I won’t say either way.


I will say this…


When you sense evil or death breathing down your neck, real or imaginary, it’s a real mind F—K. You can’t help but live in constant fear. And fear, as we discover, is like food for vile creatures.


After I finished this short story, I read the “Afterword.” In my opinion, I think Bibiana Krall should’ve put the “Author’s Note” before the actual story. Knowing this story was loosely based on real-life events increased my score. Before the “Afterword,” Troika was a solid three stars. After I read the “Author’s Note,” my score jumped a point.


Also, before the story began, Bibiana had an “Epilogue.” An epilogue goes at the end of a story.


Other than those two things, I wouldn’t have changed anything else. It was a quick, to the point, read and had just the right amount of spookiness to keep me engaged. No gore, only a story that embraced the word FEAR.

 

Heart Rating System:

1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 

Score: ❤❤❤❤

 
 
 
Bibiana Krall is the author of seventeen titles on Amazon, a former international travel expert and luxury insider, she has lived the adventurous life she writes about. Her novels and short stories highlight kickass, female protagonists in character driven stories that utilize social narratives.
Winner of a ‘Pay It Forward Scholarship’ from Wilkes University CW, Bibiana Krall has been called a, “Lyrical maven and literary wordsmith.” @Goodreads Learn more about Bibiana’s books, watch cinematic book trailers.

Become Literati and subscribe to her free blog, news, inspiring articles and occasional recipes at https://www.bibianakrall.com

YouTube: Bibiana Krall Books | Barefoot Films
Amazon Author Page Link
Chat & Follow on Twitter: @Bibiana1Krall

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,