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~ Because demented people need love, too.

The Perks of Being an Artist

Category Archives: Fractured Memories

Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month

08 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by emilypageart in book, dementia, Fractured Memories, Uncategorized

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AlzAuthors, Alzheimer's, alzheimer's awareness month, book, book giveaway, dementia, dementia book, dementia writing, Emily Page author, Fractured Memories

June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, and AlzAuthors is doing a raffle and book sale. As an AlzAuthors member, I’m offering my eBook, Fractured Memories: Because Demented People Need Love, Too, on sale on Amazon for only $2.99 and my paperback book on my website for 20%. To get the 20% off, please use coupon code AlzAuthors2018 through my website. I’m also giving away a free eBook as part of their raffle. Check the AlzAuthors group out on their website to get in on the raffle and giveaway!

alzauthors books.png

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Please Don’t Be The Reason a Unicorn Dies

08 Friday Dec 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, book, dementia, Fractured Memories, gratitude, humor, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

≈ 22 Comments

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book about caregiving, book awards, books about dementia, Emily Page, Emily Page artist, Emily Page author, Fractured Memories, how unicorns die, rosie's book review

Hey, you! Guess what? My book was nominated for an award! Guess what else? In order to win the award, people have to vote for me. Of course. Sigh. So, here’s where I ask you to do me a solid (I’m Gen X, forgive me for that little turn of phrase) and go vote at Rosie’s Book Review, and then ask all your friends on social media to do that same, because if you don’t, somewhere a unicorn will get an intestinal parasite and rainbow-poop itself to death.

Book cover 1

Have someone you need to get a holiday gift for? Check out a summary and buy a print copy here. Or read reviews and buy an eBook here (you can also buy a print copy here, but I make virtually nothing on sales on Amazon, so it’d be great – and cheaper for you – to buy them copies through my website).

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The Gift of Words

04 Monday Dec 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, book, dementia, Fractured Memories, humor, painting, Uncategorized, writing

≈ 1 Comment

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book about caregiving, book about dementia, books about dementia, caregiving, dementia, dementia book, elephant art, Emily Page, Emily Page artist, Emily Page author, Fractured Memories, Raleigh artist, Raleigh author, self-publishing

I have words, y’all. Great words. And I put those words in a book. A great book. I also have paintings, y’all. Great paintings. And I put those paintings in the same book, which makes it not just a great book, but a fanfreakingtastic book.

You have friends and family, y’all. Great friends and family. You know what they need for holidays? My book (if you didn’t see that coming, I’m worried about you).

What’s the book about? Life and stuff – mostly life with dementia. But you don’t need to have experience with dementia to relate to the book. Check out a summary and buy a print copy here. Or read reviews and buy an eBook here (you can also buy a print copy here, but I make virtually nothing on sales on Amazon, so it’d be great – and cheaper for you – to buy them copies through my website).

Book cover 1

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Cassie Bustamante’s Review

05 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by emilypageart in blog, book, dementia, Fractured Memories, gratitude, Uncategorized, writing

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art book, book about dementia, book review, Cassie Bustamante, dementia, Emily Page, Emily Page Art, Emily Page author, Fractured Memories, Raleigh artist, Raleigh author

This whole real estate thing is still madness, but I’ve had some time to paint and will hopefully be posting a new painting soon. Distraction is good right now, between the stress of daily life and the trauma we’re feeling as a nation following the shooting in Vegas. If any of you are in need of a little distraction, too, here are some book reviews Cassie Bustamante posted, including one of my book, Fractured Memories. And while you’re there, look around the rest of her blog. She’s got great decorating ideas and a project gallery.

Know a caregiver, or someone with dementia, or someone who knows someone with dementia, or someone who knows someone who knows someone else who’s a caregiver? Or heck, do you know a person? Well, you should tell them about my book, Fractured Memories: Because Demented People Need Love, Too. Part memoir and part coffee table art book, I recount my family’s heartbreaking and hilarious journey through my father’s dementia. Available to purchase here (this is my favorite way if you live in the U.S.), here or here if you’d rather get the eBook than a print copy, and here (especially if you want a hard cover copy).

Book cover 1

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YouTube Book Review

04 Sunday Jun 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, blog, book, culture, dementia, Fractured Memories, gratitude, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

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Alzheimer's, art about dementia, book about dementia, book review, dementia, Emily Page Art, Emily Page author, Fractured Memories, frontotemporal dementia

Brittany, from BrittanyReads, posted her spring indie author wrap-up on youtube, and included a review of my book, Fractured Memories. So now you don’t have to read the review, you can watch it, because screw reading, amiright? Oh, wait. The review of my book starts at around 4 minutes 45 seconds. Please go show her channel a little love, and check out some more indie books!

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Getting Your Book Seen

03 Saturday Jun 2017

Posted by emilypageart in book, dementia, Fractured Memories, gratitude, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

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art, art book, book about dementia, book review, caregiver, caregiving, dementia, dementia art, dementia writing, Fractured Memories, gift for caregiver, Raleigh artist, Raleigh author, self-publishing

Hello there, glorious Fractured Memories readers!! As you all know, I opted to self-publish Fractured Memories: Because Demented People Need Love, Too, which means that promoting it is up to me. So I’m going to do some uber-begging. First, in order for books (eBooks, soft cover, or hard cover) to be seen on Amazon, they need to have at least 25 reviews. So far, I have 7. That means I need to get at least eleventy more (I’m good at art and writing, not math, people). That means I need help. That means that, if you read and liked the book, you could write a review on Amazon. That means that people would know the book exists. That means people would buy it. That means I wouldn’t have to live off of ramen noodles, which are terrible for my triglyceride counts. Instead, I could live off of cheese, which is equally bad for my triglyceride counts but so much tastier. It also means that I could support my bourbon habit, which sterilizes my insides, washing all those triglycerides out (yup, I’m pretty sure that’s how it works).

And now, another big ask: if you liked the book, tell someone you actually know! You can post about it on social media, or just tell a friend who you think would like it. If they’ve been a caregiver, they’ll be saying, “Me, too!” the whole time they’re reading it. If they haven’t been a caregiver, you’re prepping them for something that most of us will go through at one time or another with a parent or spouse or friend; or, you’re helping them know how to be a better support for the caregivers they know. Win-win! If they want to order a print copy (or if you want to order a copy for them), they can do so on my website at http://shop.emilypageart.com/ (I make more money this way than on Amazon, AND they’ll save a little money, too). If they’re not interested, try describing the book as “a staggering work of genius,” or “the best thing that ever was – EVER.” If they’re still not interested, they sound like pretty boring people and you should probably not be friends with them anymore.

Many, many (and a few more) thanks in advance!!

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Urhous Interview

31 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, book, dementia, Fractured Memories, gratitude, interview, karma, kindness, painting, Uncategorized

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art book, artist interview, author interview, caregiver memoir, dementia book, Emily Page Art, Emily Page artist, Emily Page author, Fractured Memories, home makeover, memoir, purchasing a home, real estate

Okay, so this is kind of random, but the folks over at Urhous, a real estate company, asked me to do an interview. They’ve done a series of these videos with past buyers, and the one they did for me went live today:

https://urhous.com/2017/05/31/ep-4-where-r-they-now-wemily-page/

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Holla!

18 Thursday May 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, blog, book, death, dementia, Fractured Memories, humor, karma, kindness, painting, Uncategorized, writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Alzheimer's, art, blogging, book, book review, dementia, dementia book, Emily Page Art, Emily Page artist, Emily Page author, FLD, Fractured Memories, frontal lobe dementia, frontotemporal dementia, FTD, indie authors

Just got another great review of the book by a book blogger! Hollaaaaaa! Check it out on her blog, Brittany Reads, or read it below:

“Fractured Memories: Because Demented People Need Love Too by Emily Page is a profoundly raw account of one family’s experience of caring for a father with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).  The story is told from the perspective of an adult daughter (the author) who is caring for her father along with her husband and her mother. The book has three parts.  This first part of the book is much like a traditional memoir, with the author’s experience recounted in a narrative.  The second part of the book reads a bit like a series of journal entries, raw and largely unedited recounts of caring for her father.  The author is an artist, and the third part of the book is a series of paintings she created that out of her caregiving experience.

The author’s love for her father is the greatest testament of this book.  Yes, the author becomes angry, emotionally frayed and anxiety-ridden in the seven years she cared for her father, and sometimes those emotions are even directed at her father.  But she never walks from the situation. Underneath all the difficult emotion was an abundantly present love of a daughter. The first chapter recounts her father’s life before his diagnosis. It’s a beautiful celebration of his life before dementia, including his sense of humor, his extraordinary passion for trains and music, and his time as a First Lieutenant in the Vietnam War.

Frontotemporal dementia is described as disease of a thousand goodbyes, like slowly losing the person you love in stages.  The author writes:

“When I got home, I, of course, got online and started researching the disease. What I saw was not good. Asshole internet, which so very often lies, refused to lie to me that night. The symptoms all matched: odd social behavior (disinhibition), inability to make changes or follow complicated instructions, heightened emotion, depression. Treatment was aimed at managing symptoms, not slowing or stopping the disease. There were no medications for that. Prognosis: death two to ten years after diagnosis, probably from pneumonia after aspirating food because of muscle failure. Two to ten years. Two to ten years. Two to ten years.”

This book leveled me.  I openly wept several times while reading it, especially in the second part of the book that read like a series of mostly unedited journal entries. I learned a great deal about the impact dementia has on a family. I also learned a great deal about how to advocate for someone living with this terrible disease.

The writing style is casual, and portions of the book read like an email from a friend.   It took a while for me to adjust to the casual style. I very much enoyed the artwork throughout the book.  The author uses images of elephants to portray herself, her father, and dementia itself because “an elephant never forgets” and “An elephant’s faithful 100 percent.”  The book ends with a list of songs, a playlist of the music that was mentioned throughout the book and has a special meaning or memory tied to the author and her father.  Fractures Memories is a must read for anyone who loves or cares for anyone living with dementia.”

And now, take a moment to read some of her other book reviews to find some other great new indie authors!!

***********************************************************************************

If you’d like to see my ridiculous thoughts translated into art, visit my website, or follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Know a caregiver, or someone with dementia, or someone who knows someone with dementia, or someone who knows someone who knows someone else who’s a caregiver? Or heck, do you know a person? Well, you should tell them about my book, Fractured Memories: Because Demented People Need Love, Too. Part memoir and part coffee table art book, I recount my family’s heartbreaking and hilarious journey through my father’s dementia. Available to purchase here (this is my favorite way if you live in the U.S.), here or here if you’d rather get the eBook than a print copy, and here (especially if you want a hard cover copy).

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The IndieView Author Interview

04 Thursday May 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, book, dementia, Fractured Memories, gratitude, interview, Uncategorized

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art, author Emily Page, author interview, book review, dementia, Emily Page Art, Emily Page author, Emily Page book, find new authors, Fractured Memories, interview, Raleigh artist, Raleigh author

The IndieView just posted an interview with me about my book, Fractured Memories: Because Demented People Need Love, Too. Head on over and check it out! Then browse the rest of their site for other great author interviews.

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Don’t Forget To Have Some Fun

01 Monday May 2017

Posted by emilypageart in death, dementia, family, Fractured Memories, gratitude, mental health, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

caregiver, dementia, dementia care, family fun, fly a kite, love

Facebook reminded me recently about taking my dad out to fly a kite. So this is just a reminder for anyone else going through the caregiving experience. Dedicate some time for fun with the person you’re caring for. It can’t all be about the daily caregiving grind. You need to find a way to enjoy the person and remember why you love them enough to care for them in the first place.

For the year that we all lived together, we made Sundays a day to go out and do something fun as a family. So if it was a nice day, we flew a kite or went to a playground. If it wasn’t, we went bowling or out to dinner. Look for ways to rejuvenate yourselves and your love for each other. Get chair massages. Go out for ice cream. Have a picnic in your living room. Watch kids playing at a playground. Enjoy your favorite movie together.

And take pictures. I promise you that you’ll be so grateful later to see pictures of the person you love smiling.

dad with kite 3

dad with kite 2

The memories you build on those days will be a comfort once your caregiving experience is over.

*******************************************************************************

Thanks so much for reading my ridiculous thoughts! If you’d like to see my ridiculous thoughts translated into art, visit my website, or follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Know a caregiver, or someone with dementia, or someone who knows someone with dementia, or someone who knows someone who knows someone else who’s a caregiver? Or heck, do you know a person? Well, you should tell them about my book, Fractured Memories: Because Demented People Need Love, Too. Part memoir and part coffee table art book, I recount my family’s heartbreaking and hilarious journey through my father’s dementia. Available to purchase here (this is my favorite way if you live in the U.S.), here or here if you’d rather get the eBook than a print copy, and here (especially if you want a hard cover copy).

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Emily Page

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