I Love You to the Stars—When Grandma Forgets, Love Remembers is my latest book that will release September 22, published by Kregel Publishing.  It’s inspired by a true story and adapted for a children’s picture book.

My agent e-introduced me to a professor from Denver Seminary whose brilliant wife was diagnosed with dementia in her early 50s. A writer of numerous academic books, he also wrote a memoir about his journey caring for his wife through her life-altering disease. The type of dementia she had caused her to lose her ability to communicate. The intelligent, articulate wife he loved could no longer find words. The relationships she had with people diminished completely, but her relationship with Sunny, their terrier, stayed the same. A friend suggested that he write a picture book to help children understand how this disease can affect someone they love. That’s when we met.

I created three characters—a boy, his grandmother, and his mother, and included Sunny as the canine character. I wrote the story in first person, from the grandson’s point of view, allowing the reader to  experience the story though the eyes of a child. The boy is happy when Grandma and Sunny come to live with them. They enjoy many fun days until Grandma’s forgetfulness begins to change their lives. When the mother can no longer care for Grandma, they need to move Grandma to a home where other people can take care of her.

A children’s story does not need a happily-ever-after ending, but it needs to end with hope. I created an ending that will make the reader smile but may also trigger a gentle tear. Almost everyone knows someone whose life is affected by this tragic disease. My prayer is that this story will help families understand how dementia and Alzheimer’s can change a person’s actions, but the love is always there. Discussion questions following the story are also included. And by the way—we wanted Sunny to be true-to-life, so we sent a picture of him to the illustrator. He nailed it!

Crystal