“Alice was always beautiful—Armenian immigrant beautiful, with thick, curly black hair, olive skin, and big dark eyes,” writes Dana Walrath. Alice also has Alzheimer’s, and while she can remember all the songs from The Music Man, she can no longer attend to the basics of caring for herself. Alice moves to live with her daughter, Dana, in Vermont, and the story begins.

Aliceheimer’s is a series of illustrated vignettes, daily glimpses into their world with Alzheimer’s. Walrath’s time with her mother was marked by humor and clarity: “With a community of help that included pirates, good neighbors, a cast of characters from space-time travel, and my dead father hovering in the branches of the maple trees that surround our Vermont farmhouse, Aliceheimer’s let us write our own story daily—a story that, in turn, helps rewrite the dominant medical narrative of aging.”--from Amazon.com

Aliceheimer’s found me rather than the other way around. In February of 2008, for the second time in the space of six months, my mother, Alice, had just been kicked out of her apartment. The reason? Her Alzheimer’s disease. My sister and I looked for alternatives around New York City, her life-long home. We were hoping to keep her near the relatives to which she was the closest, near to her friends. Instead, she moved hundreds of miles north to live with me and my family in the Vermont woods. Vermont winters are long and cold. She hated snow. I was the daughter who got on her nerves. The feeling was mutual…

If Alzheimer’s disease brought humor and clarity into our lives, does this mean that our lives were utterly crazy beforehand? Perhaps it was a bit of insanity that led me to move Alice, into our home just as our nest was about to empty, just as she was losing her marbles. But with a community of help that included pirates, good neighbors, a cast of characters from space-time travel, and my dead father hovering in the branches of the maple trees that surround our Vermont farmhouse, Aliceheimer’s let us write our own story daily—a story that, in turn, helps rewrite the dominant medical narrative of aging.

"I just wanted to know your name."

"Dana."

"Pretty name."

"Thanks. You gave it to me."

"And if I just call, you'll come?"

"It might not be me, but if you call, I promise you, someone nice will come."

"That's good. Thank you. I'll sleep well knowing that."

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?

Aliceheimer's

Copies of Aliceheimer's will be on sale (cash, check, credit). Please use Eventbrite.com to RSVP for the event and help the Friends of the Library determine the number of books to bring for sales and autographs. Search Dana Walrath Friends of the Library. Please note that an Eventbrite ticket does not guarantee a seat. Seats are first come first served for free Library, Arts & Culture events. For more information call 818-548-2030.