It’s a pleasure to be participating in author Jemi Fraser’s DANCING WITH DEMENTIA, Recognizing and Coping with the Early Stages of Dementia Blog Tour through MC Book Tours today.
I absolutely loved this book! Here’s my review on Goodreads:
Dancing with Dementia is an utterly engrossing memoir which is brutally honest, funny, and tear-jerking. The author does an amazing job of blending stories about the impact of her mother and step-father’s dementia had on herself and her family with tips about how you can recognize the early signs of dementia and support those afflicted with it. You’ll find yourself alternating between laughter at the author’s dark humor and wiping away tears as she shares poignant stories about the impact of this terrible disease. Be prepared to set aside a serious chunk of time once you pick up this book. Once you start reading it, you won’t want to stop.
Jemi offers some lessons that she learned self-publishing Dancing with Dementia that you’ll want to check out below.
The author is also offering a tour-wide international giveaway of an Amazon Gift Card. More information on the giveaway is listed at the end of this post.
Top 10 Lessons Learned about Self-Publishing
Dancing With Dementia is my first foray into self-publishing. I decided not to seek traditional publication because I wanted the book out there quickly. Well, also because #8.
10. If there is a super-difficult or round-about way to do something, I’ll find it. If there is a glitch in a system, it will find me. I’ve not yet found the easy way on the first try. Or even the fifth.
9. (Directly connected to #10) There is no ONE way to do anything. And there are at least a bazillion books & articles on each of those different ways. Choosing what works for you isn’t easy!
8. I’m kind of a control freak. I like knowing how things work. I like knowing how to fix things. I like knowing what stage things are at.
7. I like learning new things. I loved learning all these new skills. From finding a drawing program, to learning to combine voice and visual files, to creating a YouTube channel, to building a website, to making a cover, to formatting, to uploading files, I’ve had a ton of fun.
6. Technology hates me. Well, maybe it’s not sentient and maybe that’s an exaggeration, but maybe not. In the past few months I’ve had a recurring computer virus that no one can fix. This has caused technological hissy-fits that have put me out of commission for hours/days at a time.
5. Despite my control-freak status and my joy of learning, self-publishing is anything BUT a solo journey. You need extra eyes on every stage of the project.
4. The writing community is awesome! I already knew this, but it has been confirmed by so many along the way. There are so many blogs out there to learn from, people who willingly offer helping hands and advice for others.
3. Asking for help is hard. I’m not very good at this, but I’m working at getting better.
2. My Tigger Brain is very bouncy. This is sometimes a good thing. I can switch between tasks pretty easily. But, maintaining focus on one task for extended periods of time when other tasks are calling my name is tough!
1. There is a LOT to learn and that learning never ends. Which is also part of the fun!
About Dancing with Dementia
Dancing with Demntia: Recognizing and Coping with the Early Stages of Dementia
by Jemi Fraser
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir
Publisher: Just Jemi Books
eBooks
ISBN-13: 978-1-9991258-1-3
Dementia and Alzheimer’s touch the lives of millions around the world, but so much is still unknown.
As first-generation Canadians, we didn’t recognize the early warning signs. We didn’t know the differences between regular aging and the early stages of dementia. We’ve made mistakes but we’ve learned a lot.
DANCING WITH DEMENTIA will help you:
•Identify those early warning signs
•Use visuals to improve communication
•Choose your words wisely
•Redirect and reassure
•Stay calm and cope with your own emotions
•Consider nursing home options
•Improve caregiver self-care
We’ve learned to dance the early steps of the disease with our love and laughter intact. If you are looking for help recognizing early signposts along with practical ways to cope with early Dementia and Alzheimer’s, this book is for you.
Grab a copy of Dancing with Dementia at: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Add DANCING WITH DEMENTIA to your Goodreads shelf
About Jemi Fraser
Jemi Fraser writes both fiction and nonfiction. Her nonfiction work focuses on the ways that dementia has impacted her family. Her fiction work varies from contemporary romance to suspense and flash fiction. Years as a teacher have taught Jemi that life is short and that happy endings are a must.
Jemi lives in Northern Ontario, Canada where snow is always a topic of conversation and the autumn leaves make everything better.
For more on Jemi and her writing, connect with her at: Website | Just Jemi Blog| Dancing With Dementia Blog | Amazon Page | BookBub | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Quick Tips Videos
Giveaway Details
This tour-wide giveaway is for a $20 Amazon Gift Card. The giveaway is open internationally.
To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient. If the widget doesn’t show up, just click HERE and you’ll be directed to the widget.
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to follow Jemi on her week-long tour HERE. You never know what you might find out. I hope dementia hasn’t touch your family or friends, but in case it has do you have any tips to share on dealing with this terrible disease?
a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js
But you made it all work! Yes, everything about writing after the first draft requires help from someone.
Thanks, Alex – it’s taken a while, but I’ve had fun learning!
Hi,
I remember an incident with my mother. A company had sent me a credit card inviting me to open up an account. I live in Germany so I had all my mail sent to my mother’s house. I didn’t know they had sent me a card until my sister said that a credit card company was calling the house about a bill that I had. I told her I didn’t have a credit card there and asked her to scan me the information. I remember asking my mother if she had received a credit card for me. She said no and was hurt as she told me that if she had received one she would have told me. To make a long story short, when I talked to the company, I found out that she had signed my name and had built up a huge bill. I never mentioned it to my mother. I just had my sister take the card and dispose of it after I got the situation cleared with the credit card company. My mother wasn’t aware of what she was doing. Now, I laugh about it but I am so happy that I never lashed out at her in anger about it.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
Wow! Good for you!!! Some people would have been so angry. It’s so hard to understand the world they’re living in at times. Glad you got the mess cleared up and managed to get a good memory out of the situation!
Thanks so much for hosting Dancing With Dementia today, Ellen! (and for the amazing review!)
Self-publishing is not for the faint of heart but it is a whole lot of fun!
Ellen, thanks so much for being a part of Jemi’s tour and sharing your thoughts on her fascinating story. It is a book that will help others in their time of need.
I hope it does manage to help at least a few!
So true, self-publishing isn’t the fun it’s thought to be. It’s murder. LOL Your tour is going beautifully! Congratulations!
Thanks, Renee! Self-publishing is not for the easily dismayed!! 🙂
Jemi, your list made me laugh, because it’s so much the same as what I would say! And after 10 books, I can add that I have to relearn half those things every. single. time. Sheesh. So glad the book is doing well!
Yikes! I hope I have the brain power to learn them again, Rebecca!! 😛
Self-pub is not for the faint of heart!