Shannon Wiersbitzky and I have recently come in contact and here is what she told me about her beautiful book.
Tell me about your book, Shannon.
In What Flowers Remember, due to a
shared love of flowers and gardening, Delia and her elderly neighbor Old Red
Clancy dream up a seed and flower selling business. The two make quite a pair.
He has the know-how and she has the get-up-and-go. But something is happening
to Old Red. And the doctors say he can’t be cured. He’s forgetting places and
names and getting cranky for no reason. As his condition worsens, Delia takes
it upon herself to save as many memories as she can. Her mission is to gather
Old Red’s stories so that no one will forget, and she corrals everybody in town
to help.
What Flowers Remember is a story of love and loss,
of a young girl coming to understand that even when people die, they live on in
our minds, our hearts, and our stories.
What inspired you to write this story?
I
spent my childhood summers with my grandparents in a small town in West
Virginia, not totally unlike the fictional town of Tucker’s Ferry. As a result,
my grandparents became like second parents. When I was in my twenties, my
grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I hoped and prayed that he wouldn’t
forget me. But of course, the disease doesn’t work that way, and I was
forgotten along with everyone else he loved. The moment I realized he no longer
knew who I was is something I will never forget. It broke my heart. And it was
that nugget which inspired this story.
Could you share with readers how you
conducted your research or share a few interesting tidbits you learned while
researching?
I
did research on Alzheimer’s as I wrote the novel. The Alzheimer’s Association
has a wealth of information. While I knew what my grandfather experienced, I
didn’t know if that was typical or if there were other signs and symptoms which
might be worth including to make it more accurate. Most people only think of
Alzheimer’s as losing memories, but it can often cause changes in mood, and
even result in a loss of smell. I included both of those in the book.
Alzheimer’s isn’t typically a disease associated
with children. Why include this as a topic in a middle-grade novel?
I
never set out to write a book “about Alzheimer’s”. I wanted to write a story
that spoke to my own truth, about how it feels to be forgotten by someone you
love. Within the context of fiction, I imagined what a young girl might do, and
what an entire town might do, if they felt they could, in some way, prevent
memories from being forgotten.
The
reality is that according to the Alzheimer’s Association, one in three seniors
will suffer from some type of dementia. One in three. That is an astounding
number. It also means that there are many children who will be impacted by the
disease. The current estimate is that 250,000 children ages 8-18 provide help
to someone with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. Whether it is grandparents or
parents, or someone else they know and love. I hope the story will help kids
and adults discuss the topic and help them, even in some small way, heal.
Thank you, Shannon, for introducing yourself to my readers.
If you know a preteen who is struggling to understand the reasons an aging loved one acts in uncharacteristic ways, I highly recommend Shannon's book, What Flowers Remember.
