Book website: www.niagarapress.net
BK: Welcome Joe. Thank you so much for chatting with me today. What inspired you to pen your first title?
JS: It was a story that was within my psyche and my soul that was just dying to burst out onto paper. We all have a story inside of us. In the end we all have our own personal hell, our own struggles, that are no more or less exceptional than anybody else's. But I wanted my future generations to understand where they came from. Most off all, Alzheimer's disease is such a lousy process, it affects 5 million, and one of the worst parts about it, is the isolation is causes in families. I thought the book might actually help somebody and cut down on that isolation. It's hard for me to really imagine any huge endeavor without maybe benefiting someone, and that pushed me to finally get it done.
BK: How long have you been writing?
JS: I started the book back in 1989 so on and off for 20 years.
BK: What was the hardest part about writing this particular book?
JS: Finding the ending. Alzheimer's disease is so life changing for the victim and the family, long after the physical death the strange poignancy of the pain does not end.
BK: Have any dreams been realized as a result of your writing?
JS: Yes, I got a book out with a real ISBN. I guess that was a dream.
BK: Is there a message in your novel you want readers to grasp?
JS: Yes start treating the elderly with honor and respect they deserve. Start talking about Alzheimer's for real even if it does not affect your family, you can't catch it by understanding it, and for those affected you are not alone.
BK: Where do you hope to take your writing in the future?
JS: A work of fiction about psychiatric residency.
BK: What advice do you have for writer's just starting out?
JS: Write because you love to write, because you need to write. Your writing be it fiction or memoir or whatever is a deeply personal and intimate look into your heart and psyche. Don't expect anybody else to see it that way. Selling books and giving a part of yourself and your toil and effort and creativity etc are two disconnected things. Don't give up if you truly need to have a published work, there are many ways to do that now more than ever. Most importantly, keep perfecting your craft of writing.
BK: Anything else you would like to share with us today?......
Thanks for letting me stop by.
Joseph J. Sivak MD
If you know of or maybe someone in your family has Alzheimer's, We can all help by giving to the research. If you would like to donate or find out more information, please visit The Alzheimer's Association.
There are so many ways to get involved for such a great cause. Thank you so much for stopping in Joe and sharing your story. I am also giving away 2 copies of Joe's book. Simply leave Joe a comment with your email address and you will be entered to win. Drawing will be December 6, using Random.org Number Generator.
It is not necessary to become a follower of my blog but would be greatly appreciated.
The true life account of a young man living with the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in a parent. The
disease was diagnosed in his mother when the author was seventeen years old in 1979, long before
Alzheimer's disease was a household term.
The book candidly traces with graphic detailed description and dialogue the course of the fatal illness.
The emotional issues of such pivotal events as the loss of autonomy of driving a car and entry into a
nursing home are experienced through the eyes of a young son. From a concurrent viewpoint
Alzheimer's is explained with the wisdom of a 21st century physician who has personally experienced
the emotional anguish, and thus the fact-based journey is a truly unique dual-perspective Alzheimer's
memoir. The story juxtaposes the active uphill battle to become a doctor set against the backdrop of
the passive helpless struggle of losing a parent to the disease
The narrative provides explicit commentary on the modern plight of the physician and the global
connection family members of an Alzheimer's victim painstakingly share. The unusual, seldom before
elicited insights of the dual-perspective vigorously address universal issues such as coping, hope,
futility, humiliation and societal bias toward the disease throughout the text.
disease was diagnosed in his mother when the author was seventeen years old in 1979, long before
Alzheimer's disease was a household term.
The book candidly traces with graphic detailed description and dialogue the course of the fatal illness.
The emotional issues of such pivotal events as the loss of autonomy of driving a car and entry into a
nursing home are experienced through the eyes of a young son. From a concurrent viewpoint
Alzheimer's is explained with the wisdom of a 21st century physician who has personally experienced
the emotional anguish, and thus the fact-based journey is a truly unique dual-perspective Alzheimer's
memoir. The story juxtaposes the active uphill battle to become a doctor set against the backdrop of
the passive helpless struggle of losing a parent to the disease
The narrative provides explicit commentary on the modern plight of the physician and the global
connection family members of an Alzheimer's victim painstakingly share. The unusual, seldom before
elicited insights of the dual-perspective vigorously address universal issues such as coping, hope,
futility, humiliation and societal bias toward the disease throughout the text.
1 comments:
This was a great interview! Thank you so much for sharing! I loved reading it! My grandfather suffered with Alzheimer's right before he died. Thank you again.
Kristen
My Bloody Fairy Tale
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