When, from deep in the grip of dementia, my dad suddenly “awakened” in the summer of 2015, he sent a simple but powerful message to his family: he wanted to live. That moment changed everything.
After our family's experience with my dad's awakening, I felt that I had to share this miraculous experience with the world. I quickly posted an article on the website Medium, and the article was read hundreds of thousands of times by families and caregivers of Alzheimer's / Dementia sufferers and others searching for hope. My father passed away in 2016, but his awakening stayed with me, and it became the spark that ignited my own.
This book is about those awakenings: his, mine, and maybe even yours. Through personal stories, family memories, and lesson learned, I explore how moments of clarity, big or small, can open our eyes to meaning, love, and gratitude. What began as a story of one man’s miraculous return from the fog of dementia became my own journey of reflection and discovery, and it made me want to reach out to you, to remind us that life continues to offer gifts if we’re awake enough to see them.
Awakenings in Real Life is both a heartfelt memoir and an invitation: to notice your own awakenings, to share your stories, and to celebrate the transformations that bring purpose and hope into our lives.
Join me in this book, and on my podcast, as we uncover other people’s real stories of awakening, meaning, and the blessings that life brings when we finally open our eyes.
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