Laurette's Ingenious Books and the Impact on Memory

Hi everybody, this is the Truth, Lies and Alzheimer's Show brought to you by Global Media Network LLC and Passionate World Talk Radio. Passionate World Talk Radio is a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Media Network LLC, and our motto is educate, enlighten, and entertain. I'm Lisa Skinner, your host, and I would like to shout out a very warm welcome to all of you who have joined us today, and thank you so much for being here. I have a very special guest here with me today, and who I'm going to introduce to you in just a second. Her name is Laurette Clear. And she is the creator, the founder, and the author of the very well-known book, Nana's Book Series. Laurette is a career educator with extensive experience in creating literacy environments to engage the reluctant reader and writer. She has championed underserved populations as a grant writer for the last 25 years. Creating programs to augment curricula in urban and priority schools. She has then taken her love of literature and literacy from the classroom to the boardroom and now to elder care with her award-winning series, Nana's Books. She's a spirited advocate for compassionate care initiatives She's also a certified senior advisor, a certified dementia practitioner, and has a background in cognitive stimulation and rehabilitative therapy for older adults in their communities of care. I'd like to welcome— to send out a big warm welcome to Laurette Fleer for, for being my guest on the show today. Hi, Laurette, welcome to the show.

Wow. Hi, Lisa Skinner.

How are you?

Happy to be here.

I'm— oh, I'm so happy to have you. I've been really looking forward to talking to you about the wonderful contributions that you are making to the folks living with dementia. So let me just start off by telling our listeners a little bit about your books. They are mindfully designed to be what Lorette refers to as companion books. They are crafted with intention and current best practices in person-centered care. And of course, as you all know, I practice person-centered care, so I am a huge advocate of this ideology, which we'll talk about. Her large hyperlegible font are also, and clinician-approved layout and formatting do ensure a positive frustration-free experience for everybody. The relatable themes provide a window into the past with familiar resonant imagery to assist in easing sharing. The benefits of nostalgia therapy, which she refers to this as being, are well-researched and go beyond reminiscence therapy, as there is no expectation placed on the individual living with brain change to recall or remember particular people or events, which we all know can cause distress. So, that said, let's turn the microphone over to Laurette, and she can tell us how she entered this world, what was the impetus behind and the inspiration behind these wonderful books that she creates, and we'd love to hear your backstory. Okay, Lorette, take it away.

Okay, thanks, Lisa Skinner. Well, my mother-in-law was living in the Boston area with Lewy body dementia. She was diagnosed around 2017 but was showing signs prior to that, and we really found living out of state— we live in Connecticut— when we'd visit, which was frequently— my husband's business is in Massachusetts, so we'd go quite a bit— we really couldn't make the most of visits with her. She was very lonely, dispirited, which is pretty typical of people in long-term care, particularly during COVID So there'd be, you know, she would be staring or she would be, you know, just not herself and kind of staring into the middle distance. And we really couldn't engage her and we really wanted to make the most of every visit. And my twins at that time were probably 11 or 12, they're in college now. And it was very, very difficult for them to see their nana that way. And we really just didn't know how to re-engage with her. We would take her to restaurants early on, but that kind of was no longer possible later in her journey and her progression. So we would visit, and I saw what was around. She was an avid reader, and there were old shelter magazines like old Good Housekeeping, board books for children which were in tough condition, and things that just weren't dignified and that really weren't worthy of her time as a reader. And she just— I could tell that it was demeaning to her and that she was vocal about the fact that that was demoralizing and that she didn't like that. She was not a proponent of doll therapy. She raised 6 children. She grew up in South Boston in, you know, a neighborhood full of kids. And I, you know, and I think in those days kids were parentified as a at a younger age, you know, sometimes looking after younger siblings and things like that. So she didn't like the dolls that were outside of her room. There was a nice center set up, and she didn't enjoy, you know, quote-unquote therapeutic television viewing. She really was a reader and was really troubled and was missing that. So we really couldn't figure out what we could do, and I thought, you know what, She used to read the Boston Globe daily, the Patriot Ledger front to back daily, large print fiction right until she was in long-term care. So on one visit I decided when I come back I'm going to make a book that's just for her. I'm going to use very large images and classic art, classic literature, and just beautiful vistas that can kind of take her and have her transcend and go beyond that fourth wall of long-term care. She was in a memory care unit. So the first book I did was a book about Irish wit and wisdom because she grew up in the South Boston neighborhood.

And it was such a hit with her and brought so much joy.

She was just so— I got old images of all the different parts of Ireland, vintage sepia-toned imagery and things like that. And It was really something that lit her up, and she spoke with great specificity about the kids in her neighborhood and, you know, the things that they'd get up to, the shenanigans and all that. So that was wonderful, and she was in a Sunrise, and it was, you know, the place was wonderful. They took beautiful care of her, but they really just didn't have access to anything that was generative and joyful. So that's how it all began. It really began with a simple book that was created just out of love and out of necessity.

So you really saw this just amazing transformation when you introduced her to that first book of it tapping into her familiar memories from her past, and that's really what we want to try to do. And like Laurette says, bring joy into the lives of of our loved ones who are living with cognitive decline, and we know that this is a proven method to be able to tap into those long-term memories that stay intact with them for the duration of their journey. Wouldn't you agree with that, Laurette?

I would. I absolutely, and I really like to All of the different books have been, the genesis of the books have been suggestions from people that are, said, "Hey, do you have anything for veterans?" Or, "Do you have anything for someone who was interested in golf?" Or any of the things that people liked or that was part of their lives. So that was kind of, it's all interest-based. Based, and it's all books that people can self-select, which is part of the autonomy, part of the agency. You know, when you can't access your library yourself anymore and you no longer have, you know, the ability to drive and you can't get out and about, you're really stuck with what is there. And that is, you know, long-term care post-COVID, they're book deserts, which means it's any geographical place that people don't have access to books. The International Federation of Library Associations, the gold standard, their recommendation is that per bed there are 6 books. We are woefully, woefully below that everywhere I've been and anywhere that I know of. There are way fewer books than that. This is a way for people to have great books, bespoke books, bespoke books meaning that are just made just for you, tailor-made for you. And then all the different science is paired with the art to really make it very, very accessible and easy to use. And then people feel like they have that success because they're not struggling with the fonts. The size, just the actual layout of the book itself, everything about it is rehabilitative and is really designed, as you had said earlier, very, very mindfully and very intentionally.

Yeah. Well, I just absolutely love your story and I applaud you for just coming up with this idea because I've been doing this for 30 years now and I've worked with so many families and I agree with what you're saying. There's such a shortage of stimulating activities for us to enable our loved ones to really reengage with their, with their life story. And it sounds like you found the perfect vehicle to enable them to do that. So tell us how, how your books have evolved. I think if I'm not mistaken, you've, you've you've even created a foundation from your work. So tell us a little bit about that and how your whole idea has evolved into what it's become today, because I think that it's become something pretty substantial.

Well, it is definitely— thank you— it has definitely gotten away from me, I can tell you that. What started as a couple of books— the second book was called Life's Journeys and had to do with all of our different milestones on the road of life. So everything from first love to bringing home baby to just all of the different milestones, empty nest and so forth. So from that perspective of two books, and then as I said, I met families that had veterans in the family and that just had all of these different, that they, oh, my mother loves to see pictures of babies, or kittens, or the typical things. But then I've got other things that are much, much further from that. I've got books that have to do with, let's say, the nature of Scotland, and just the prose and the poetry that goes with all the different beautiful nostalgic vistas and the time, let's say, in Scotland. Or as I said, Ireland. I've got books that are in Spanish. I have books that are—

really, we have a deep, deep faith base.

So I've got non-denominational Christian books, Judaica. I've got mantras. All kinds of things that are different faith traditions, but they're really resonant with the person because that's something that people really lean into as they progress. And the families too. The books are meant to be like you and I, we are our demographic, meaning as a caregiver we also need this restorative, joyful type of book in our hands because it is vetted. It's, you know, everything about it, it just gives you that ease, but it's something that you might have a chuckle or you might, you know, smile a smile of joy or be reminded of a certain period in your life. And it's something that can spark that conversation with your loved one, when they have that visual and auditory cueing, it's amazing what they can access. You know, their long-term memory in many, many cases, and in most cases, is intact, and they're able to really, really lean into some of the things that they loved to talk about and that were so meaningful for them. And then when you're in life review and you're, you know, you're getting, getting towards the the end of your life and you're looking at what was good, what I did well, what I could have done better, and you're just— you've got that time. You know, we're not understanding that people that are living with dementia are in the meta, means they're thinking about their thinking, and that's something that we're not addressing. And I think that causes a lot of depression, anxiety, because people want to talk, want to have a friend at their side or a family member, and because they can't do that, because they have trouble with word finding and aphasia and so forth, that becomes bottled up and it gains energy. So for those reasons, the books are a great tool because they really are a catalyst for those kinds of really deep, grand conversations about who I was, who I am, who I hope to be. So that's kind of— Go ahead.

Oh, I was just going to say—

I'm sorry, we had a little bit of a lag. Go ahead, I'm here.

Yeah, you just kind of triggered a thought for me when you brought up difficulty communicating and, you know, a lot of people who live with Alzheimer's disease/dementia do suffer from aphasia. So how have you noticed that the books do bring those moments of joy, surface those moments of joy for the folks who can't actually articulate how they are making them feel. You rely on their facial expressions and their body language. And you can just kind of feel them, the light come to them when they are looking at the pictures even though they can't actually articulate what they're thinking as far as reminding them of a joyful time. They see a picture, it reminds them of something that was very special. What have you seen with those folks?

Oh, well, I have a good example. Where I live in Connecticut, I'm about half an hour from the town of Groton, and in Groton there is a place called the Odd Fellows Home. Which is now renamed, but it's a long-term care residential care, but they used to have a kind of like an acting troupe and a performance kind of an organization that would work with them. So it kind of took on this name. But I had a group when I first started this work, and I brought my daughter Ingrid, and we went in, and I was reading books that I had just put Post-it notes in and that I thought were witty or I thought were light. There was one poem that had to do with the humble geranium, and I could see a woman there, she just had a tear in the corner of her eye, and you know, when I left, the woman that was the recreation therapist said, "Oh, she was an avid gardener," and it just— you just brought that back to her. And it had to do with, essentially, the poem was the potted geranium was on the back porch and it got neglected and walked by, and it's a very famous poem, I can't remember the poet right now, I'll remember. It really brought about this sense in this woman. And then there was another poem we talked about, about this— we read that had to do with a man in probably the '20s or the '30s, around the time of the Depression, and he went out on a date and about how the woman on the date wanted everything on the menu and how this— by the end of the date, the guy was, you know, he was flat broke and had to do the dishes in the restaurant. And it was just very, very sad. Very well told and very funny. So there was a man in a recliner. It was like a reclining, you know, recliner that you could roll around. And he had his fingers interlaced on the upper portion of his chest. He had a larger, like a belly, and his head was kind of thrown back to one side. And you could see he had his eyes closed. When I tell you he chuckled and just the reverberation that went through through his body from his head to his feet, and he was just cracking up at— but silently— at the reading of this poem. And I thought, this really, really does resonate. And people really, whether they're looking or they've got their eyes closed or they're listening, they're in there and they are enjoying this and they're taking this in, and it's reaching— it's, it's soul-tending. It's reaching the spirit. And I think that that is something that we're really, really missing the mark on, and we're overlooking in care.

I couldn't agree with you more. I have personally witnessed so many occurrences where music was introduced to people, and all of a sudden you can see their foot tapping to the beat of the music, and they were kind of just, you know, not really responsive before that, and the music just brought this out of them. And the same goes for Books and reading to our loved ones, and it's just— it's, to me, it's miraculous. I have seen just one miracle after another over the years that I've been engaged with people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. I know I've told my audience so many times, I personally have had 8 of my own family members who have lived with one of the brain diseases that cause dementia. 5 of those have been blood relatives. And believe it or not, I actually even cared for my dog who at the time, oh, around 15 years old, developed canine cognitive dysfunction is what they call it. And I was recognizing these symptoms that, that were very obvious to me. And I was thinking, you know, maybe I've just been doing this for too long because I don't even know dogs got dementia. And I thought, well, you know, I'm seeing very similar symptomology and behaviors in my dog that I was seeing— had been seeing in humans for, for decades. So anyway, I took him to the vet, and sure enough, it turns out the vet said to me, yes, he does have what we call canine cognitive dysfunction, and you're right, you were not reading into that. So the upside for me was at least I knew how to care for him based on finding it. Yeah. Yeah, and it—

yeah, yeah, people are living longer, you know, and our brains— you know, 1 in 3 people dies with some form of dementia, and it's real. And I think that, you know, without a cure on the horizon, you know, or multiple cures, you know, we really need to look into better care and these types of things. I had no idea that dogs could have dementia, so you've taught me something today.

Well, it sure shocked me, but you know, I, I was so suspicious of what I was seeing because it was all so familiar. A lot of the same behaviors, uh, just that kind of deer-in-the-headlights stare that we see, and not knowing how to get himself out of a corner if he was kind of facing the corner and didn't know how to turn himself around, and not remembering, you know, potty habits and things like that. So I finally took him to the vet, and it turned out that the vet told me that— I think the number was 50% of dogs starting at the age of 11 develop doggy dementia, and it's exactly what we develop as humans. So, you know, there's a lot of similarities and parallels. But, you know, in terms of being prepared for— I talk a lot about this on my show because the numbers that are being projected for the people that will be developing Alzheimer's disease, and I'm talking just Alzheimer's disease, I'm not talking about any of the other 199 or so brain diseases that cause dementia. I am talking about Alzheimer's disease, which is the number one cause of dementia. The projections of how many people are expected to develop it just by the year 2050, which we know, Lorette, is only 22 short years away, are expected to triple. And from what I've seen, and I see every day, I don't feel that we're prepared for the number of people who are projected to develop Alzheimer's disease unless, of course, a cure or treatment is found. And these are just some of the really important activities and therapies that we need to be aware of in order to provide them with really meaningful, purposeful, and engaged lives so they can live out the rest of this journey as great as possible. Wouldn't you agree with that? I would.

I mean, It's staggering, truly, the numbers. And, you know, we've got this large bump in just demographically, you know, baby boomers. So that group, you know, it's that, you know, age group that is going to be, you know, disproportionately impacted. And as you said, it's really gaining ground and it's on the rise. And I just feel like we can do so, so, so much better. And I think the focus has been on this culture of chasing these cures, and that's, you know, a great thing.

However, we're really—

we're missing the forest for the trees. We're not giving people the care they need in their lifetimes while they're here with us. And it's kind of— we've got, you know, I guess the sense is that it's like castoffs. It's kind of like the, you know, the elephant in the room where no one's talking about the fact that there are so many things. And, and I'm grateful we're moving in a great direction finally, but really no one for the longest time was talking about, you know, how we can do better. And we need to go from that warehousing model to these, you know, green spaces and just these floor plans and these layouts and these, you know, neighborhoods and communities as opposed to these facilities and these, you know, this is residential care. It's people, it's their homes, and we really have to give a lot of conscious consideration to everything from the seating to the lighting to the layouts to all the materials, and they can be so much better than they are. Adaptive clothing is coming a really long way. I know some great people that are involved in that. And then in creative engagement, I've got friends that You know, from the Pacific Northwest out in Oregon, Portland, Oregon, Mirador Magazine. They're fantastic. It is just a visual feast. That's what I'm trying to do with my books too. And it's not just an afterthought or, you know, just something that's thrown together. These are really, really— they're really smart, creative ladies that are doing this. And I deeply admire them. And, you know, it's— there's a movement. To go beyond pharma approaches, go beyond, you know, this good, bad approach and take a sensitive, you know, think about aesthetics, think about your baseline personality, think about, you know, not just the genetics, the epigenetics, you know, the trauma, have it be trauma-informed, have it be something that's, you know, beautiful and desirable and aspirational. 'Cause what we've got going on now is just default. And like I said, I always say we can do so much better, and I really do. It keeps me going. And when I talk to different people and they say, my dad spoke for an hour and 20 minutes about his time in the US Navy and how his naval group, and he had his whole, just the fight song, and just how he, really, really was just talking and kind of transported in a way to his time in service. And it's just to feel seen and to feel heard and to feel relevant and recognized, like, that's such a gift to people because it's been so long since they felt that way. So really, I'm just looking to provide the tools with which people can do that, and they can— it's, it's something that they can go back to again and again. So it's not a book that you just look at once and it's just some labeled items like labeled sports equipment, or it's pictures of different types of kittens, Ragdoll and all the different types of Manx and the different types of cats or whatever, or Tabby. It's deeper than that. It's proverbs and praise and poetry and just all kinds of beautiful visuals and visuals for, you know, and books for adults, excuse me, diverse elders in the adult community, then treat us like adults. Do you know what I mean? So, I feel like there's so much work to do. I don't think, my husband can tell you, and this is true, I don't think I've slept more than 5 hours a night since March of 2019 because I work all the time because it is just I'm absolutely passionate about this work. It is just a labor of love.

I can tell.

There's so much more to do, so I'm doing it. And I, you know, I'm so blessed.

I can tell how passionate you are. I can certainly tell how passionate you are, and I just want to give you a big hug and applaud you for the wonderful work you're doing, and it is so, so needed. And I think that, um, What I— from what I've seen, that's the place that we really all need to start is with helping people have a better understanding of what really living with dementia is like for the people who have it, because it's a very complicated disease. Most people associate it with just pretty much exclusively being about memory loss. And confusion. And those of us who work in this realm know that it's so much more complicated. There are so many more layers to this disease. It's a difficult job for caregivers. It's a difficult relationship to have with our loved ones because it's very stressful when these things come up, like they don't recognize us one minute to the next. And then all of a sudden they do. And having a better understanding of what to look for, what to recognize as being part of the disease, really is a win-win for everybody. Because if we really know how to manage this disease in a better, more effective way, then we can really focus on what really matters, and that's spending quality time with the person we're caring for, our loved ones, and really being able to provide them with the best quality of life that we possibly can. And that, of course, is to everybody's advantage because you, you can eliminate a lot of the stress and complications that do go along with this disease and I think that people don't really understand what's in front of them when it comes to caring for somebody with this disease until they're really in the weeds. So, I agree with you on that point is that we just really need to do a much better job raising the awareness and, you know, not being afraid to talk about that elephant in the room that is staring us in the face and pretending like it's not there because it is there. Very true, very true.

And I feel like it really is a privilege to work in this community. The people I've met are just the salt of the earth, really, and I've learned so much from, from everyone. And I feel like the books are— and the digital library, you know, the print library— it really is for the caregiver as well. So there's this dyad, it's that, you know, every time a person is diagnosed with dementia, you know, a caregiver is born. And I feel like the caregiver is always, you know, in many, many instances is overlooked. So I think for you to be able to sit with your mom or your husband or, you know, your neighbor and to really have that, you know, your aunt, that type of a visit, and it just soothes the soul for everyone. And you can have conversations, I know I did, with someone that you've probably never had before. The filter is off. It's not about— there's no posturing anymore. There aren't these prescribed roles anymore, mother-daughter. It's almost like you can look them in the eyes and they can look you in the eyes, and it's about this human connection and you're connecting as like mothers because, you know, you're a mom and she's a mom, or you're connecting as friends and talking about, gee, you know what, if I had to do it all over again, I might have done this or that, or I might not have done this or that. Or my mother-in-law really shared with me— and again, I've got other loved ones with dementia and, you know, friends as well, and people that I've known in this work— they are so candid and so open and so almost like starry-eyed to have someone sit with them and listen and just hear their story. You know, people talk about, oh, let's say someone is confabulating, you know, they're exaggerating or they're repeating or they're shadowing and all these things. None of these really, when you break them down, are negative. If they're confabulating or exaggerating, they're embroidering on something that they need a little bit more security around or they need to know better about. If they're shadowing you, they might need more company, more attention, more eye contact, more nonverbal communication. All of these things are messages and they're human, just manifestations of human needs. And, you know, I've got a friend who's 88. She mentors me. She's a neighbor here in town and we have a memory cafe together. And she says it to me all the time. She says, "Lori, pay attention." And in life, she's known me since my kids were born, and my eldest is 26, my twins are 20, and I can tell you, Lisa, that that's the watchword with these books and with this work and with caregiving. Pay attention because— Yes.

—they're gone.

It doesn't seem like— it's almost the same kind of thing when you're raising small children. They say the days are long, but the years are short. These days of caregiving will be gone. They will be behind us. And you think about what were the little pearls that we could gather along the way, and what were the moments that we look back on. We used to take my mother-in-law to this place called JJ's Dairy Hut on Route 3A near the Sunrise, and it was just to get a cone, a soft-serve cone with sprinkles, and she'd make a crazy mess in the back of the car, she and my daughter., and we go drive by the seaside at the shore town where she lives. And, um, just, you know what, those are the moments. It's, it's not anything, you know, fancy or grand. It's, it's, those are the moments. And really, if I can have any small part in changing the narrative and, and encouraging people to do those little things and to try to, you know, make the most of those little moments. I have the best job in the world, you know.

Yeah, so lucky. Yeah. And one of the things that we do know, and I've said this before and I'm sure you'll agree with me, is, you know, they might not remember the exact words of a conversation that we have together, and they do love to tell their stories, but what it does for our loved ones, it allows them to feel good, to feel comfort, to feel secure and safe, and feel joy. And that feeling stays with them for a long time. So feel good about providing your loved ones, or the people that you care for, with, with being able to feel those special loving feelings that they otherwise wouldn't be experiencing unless you were, you know, giving them— putting them in the right environment, providing them with the right activities. This is all part of our caregiving responsibility to provide them with the best quality life.

Right, right. Yeah, and it's just about really the bottom line is we all need it from the time we're born. You know, is validation, affirmation, acceptance.

Very basic human needs. Very basic human needs. And that's really what I've seen, kind of whittling it down, people who live day after day after day with a brain disease that causes dementia, is it really kind of comes down to providing them with the basic human needs.

Right, right. Correct. And it's just, yeah. Yeah, and I think it's the Maslow's hierarchy, right? We're focused on— It is. You know, bathing and the eating and the toileting and those things, but when those needs are met, there's that whole upper, you know, half, more than a quadrant, half of that, you know, that hierarchy that we're just not addressing and people are going to bed at night with those, you know, they talk about when your kids are small and even adults as well, you know, in a marriage, let's say. Your cup needs to be filled and, and, you know, your, your soul, your spirit, your, you know, your emotions, your, you know, all those things need, need attention in the day-to-day. And if you've gone months and weeks and years without those feelings, of course you're going to be despondent or depressed. And, you know, they talk about, you know, in the UK what they're doing so much more with loneliness, isolation. They have whole parts of the government that they are addressing these things now with socially prescribed medicine and all the things that— meaning medicine, meaning social interaction that is prescribed, and it's part of a dementia diagnosis. And that's finally, thankfully, coming here because it is curative and it is life-saving in that, you know, what's your— what are your qualifications for what makes up, you know, what does a life consist of, what makes up a life, and a life is about the moments and the relationships and the experiences and again, that connection. And when we lose that, we've failed as a society. So, I think we're— Well said. The tide's turning, so I'm very hopeful.

Yeah, and I don't know if a lot of you are aware of this. You mentioned the UK, but the UK, Finland, and the Netherlands, their number one leading cause of death right now, according to the World Health Organization's— I mean, the World Alzheimer's Association's 2022 report, it's the number one leading cause of death for senior citizens, whereas here in the United States it's the sixth. So they really have a very serious situation going on there. So they are doing a lot of very progressive things that are really great to see because it's such a chronic situation, especially in those three countries. And I think one of the things that we really need to kind of hit home here as a part of this discussion is just to emphasize and bring to light the that all of these things that you and I have been talking about today are realistically possible to provide. And I think a lot of people don't think it is because one of the myths out there that, you know, people fall prey to is once you get the Alzheimer's diagnosis, that means, okay, this is the end of my life. That's it. This is as good as it's ever going to be. And we know, those of us who work with these folks and with the families and with the caregivers know that that's absolutely far, far, far from being the truth. That people can live a very, very, very long time with meaningful, purposeful lives, but it takes us as the family members and the caregivers and the professionals to know how to make that happen. But My message and hope for everybody is that it is very, very possible. Lorette has seen it. I have seen it. And, you know, we really want people to understand that it does not necessarily have to represent the doom and gloom that a lot of people believe it does, that there is life out there after an Alzheimer's diagnosis.

Oh yeah, there's joy to be had for sure. And yeah, no, it's, you know, there's— there's a paradigm, you know, will change. It's slowly changing, and we're starting to realize that we can find purpose. We can find, you know, our way back to one another and, you know, a depth in human relationships that, you know, we all crave and, you know, we need. And I think that our time here is well spent when we go for this low-hanging fruit and these, you know, this no-tech, non-pharma, these approaches that just have to do with sitting side by side, holding a hand, you know, making something together, you know, dough or, you know, just cutting coupons or, you know, anything that's just a little something that you can do that side by side side, and the person feels included, and it's genuine. You can pay someone a genuine compliment. You can, you know, these are all things that really, really do— they have, you know, it's clinically proven that these good feelings are good medicine. So I think a lot of these things have these, you know, ripple effects for overall health, and allopathic medicine, you know, needs this boost from feel-good hormones and these feel-good experiences. And, you know, I know I sound like Pollyanna here, but really I mean it. I think that we have so much good, as you said, ahead of us, you know, with our loved one living with dementia, given this new paradigm and seeing it with fresh eyes and seeing all of that— all the good that remains.

And I love the conversation that we've had today. I think it is so valuable for people to really understand the possibilities that are available to people once they do get an Alzheimer's or dementia diagnosis. I love what you're doing with your creative books and what they provide for people, helping them engage with their life and not forget who they are. It is just, you know, such a wonderful, wonderful thing you're doing. How can people find your books, and can you tell us— like give us your website information, your contact information, and what is the best way for people to kind of know exactly what to order for their loved one? How to— is there a process that is, you know, because you might— I would think that you would need to know some personal details about your loved one if you want to customize a book for them, know what— a little bit about the prime of their lives. So how does all that work if you could share that information with us?

Sure. So the website, you can get all the information regarding the digital library. It was exciting because we got the National Mature Media Award for that, recognized the digital library as a tool for caregivers. So that was exciting. That was this summer. So you can get information about the digital library, which is great to do a virtual visit if you can't. Let's say you live in New Jersey and your mom is in Florida. You can enjoy the books together with the digital library, and your mom can enjoy it independently when you're not there. So my website is nanasbookseries.com. So it's just N-A-N-A-S B-O-O-K and everything is there about all the print books and you can see, and the digital books. And you can see and they are categorized. So there are all the poetry books are together and they are all voice-enabled. So it's great because if you get the digital library you can just sit and listen which is lovely and very simple. And that is something that people can really enjoy during sundowning in particular. That's a nice time of day and you build in that ritual. So it's just that nice moment of peace and calm and grace. So there are categories of books. So let's say that I've got 4 books for veterans. I've got a dozen books that are just picture books, but they have all different kinds of— for example, the mother and child book, it's all paintings from all the different years and years and years of classic paintings of mother and child from different cultures and different eras, and they have different types of— clothing and different types of environments, backyard or lakeside or in their home or at the cradle and things like that. I've got books that have to do with birds, but it's not just picture books of birds. Even if they are picture books, they have all kinds of resonance that have to do with, let's say, poems or proverbs or witticisms. So it's kind of just lots of different things that you can scaffold a conversation on. Let's see. I've got books for the holidays. I think 7 books for the holidays, all the different holidays throughout the year. People can just go on there and they can just click on the COVID and it's very, very— the interface is very simple. I've got an app going into the App Store which is the same. It's just another way to access the digital library. Let's say you're in the emergency room or you're in a restaurant or you're at the audiologist with your mother or father or your husband. You can do that. The books are available on Amazon. You can see that on the website, or you can just put in my name, Laurette Clear, K-L-I-E-R, or Nana's Books. Nana's Books is harder to pull up because there are a couple of kids' books that have Nana in the title. Mm-hmm. Let's see. So anything that you want to access, and even if you want to reach out to me through the website, you can get a hold of me.. And we can talk about a, let's say, a bundle that you might want to do for your community, or high-interest books, let's say, for a family member, or you want to make a donation to, let's say, a veterans organization, let's say a hospice house, or you wanted to do something that was for a senior center in your community, or your local library. All those things you can find all that information on the website.

Oh, well, I cannot think of a more valuable resource for people to have at their fingertips to create joy in the life of a person living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. Unfortunately, we're just about out of time. We could go on and on and on about this. It's been, you know, so rewarding to be able to talk with somebody else who understands this disease and works with the families and— as I do. It's been a joy, an absolute joy to have you on the show today, Loretta. I can't thank you enough for being here with me today. And is there anything else you want to add before we close?

I just want to say thank you. I feel absolutely the same way, and I do appreciate this platform, this opportunity to talk with you. It has been a delight for me too. And really, anyone who has questions at all, I'm here for you.

Please reach out. Great. Well, I want to thank my audience for listening again today. We know how valuable your time is, but we're here for you, and we certainly hope that this information makes your day a little easier to bear if you have this situation going on in your life. We do have so much to cover in our upcoming episodes, so make sure that you come back every week. I desperately want to provide you all with the information that you will find helpful and valuable throughout your journey. And remember, dementia awareness is every day. Kindness is the ability to speak with love, listen with compassion, and act with patience. These are all very necessary attributes to have in order for any of us to outlast Alzheimer's disease. So thanks again for being here, and I'll be back next week with a brand new episode of The Truth, Lies Alzheimer's Show. Everybody have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. Bye for now.