As a former teacher, I observed students to be inclined either toward areas of art or areas of logic. These two inclinations were most likely separate and rarely merged. Those who leaned toward the arts loved to read and write but the logical study of scientific data and math equations was more tedious for them and vice versa.
I’ve always been an individual drawn to the arts. I’ve loved to read. Immersion in books taught me other points of view and books took me other places. No book was ever too long for me. I just whittled away, lost in the words and concepts, until the book was magically over.
At times in my life, I’ve thought God left out the logical part of my brain. I have great admiration for those who live by logic, as I’m more driven by the heart.
Although I was a reader, I never expected to write a book. But once I started writing Alzheimer’s Daughter, the art of putting the words together to evoke emotion drove me to continue working on the book for four years until I published.
I’m fortunate to be able to work with other managers and board members of AlzAuthors who transition seamlessly from art and emotion to logic and detail.
In order for an author’s work to be showcased by AlzAuthors, first it must touch the heart, then it must have good, solid details that will resonate and guide a current care partner as well as being of value to organizations that form the tribe around Alzheimer’s and caregiving.
Our featured book this week does this and so much more! Our author, Daniel C. Potts, MD, a neurologist, brings all of the components of logical accomplishments together in his medical practice, but he writes this beautiful book with such artistic and emotional sensitivity that I was brought to goose bumps and tears many times. Bringing Art to Life is not simply a book about art and Alzheimer’s, it speaks of deep relationships and the building and giving back of personhood for both the person with dementia and the one providing care in the relationship. I guarantee your heart will be touched and your life blessed if you read this lovely book!
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This Week's Featured Author
Daniel C. Potts, M.D. writes:
A neurologist and only child, I struggled with self-doubt and guilt, deeply desiring to please my parents and care for them with the devotion and compassion they deserved. Medicine taught me the science of Alzheimer’s, but not day to day care giving skills. I felt like a failure, incapable of advising and supporting Mother as I desired, and of giving Dad the most dignifying care. During that dark time and afterward, I nearly succumbed to burn-out and despair. Yet his example buoyed me on. I discovered my own gift of writing, and poetry was the candle that brightened many woeful hours.
How would I honor his legacy and pay forward the gift I had been given in such a wonderful father, one who had faced his toughest battles by loving bravely and painting the world in his heart’s vibrant colors? Would he have been proud of the way I have told his story, faced my own challenges, and shared my own art born of authentic personhood brought to the surface through suffering?
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