Description
They say every author is inspired to write by their own experiences, and for Dundalk writer Susan McGovern this is especially true.
Having just launched her first collection of short stories, entitled ‘Thanks for the Memories’ last week, Susan revealed that it was the very emotional, and at times painful subject of Alzheimer’s that informed the collection.
Both Susan’s parents were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, her mam in 2010, and just three years later her father also.
Susan explains how the incidence of Alzheimer’s increased significantly in recent years.
‘There are currently 55,000 people with Alzheimer’s disease in Ireland and 47 million worldwide. It is expected that these figures could rise to 91,000 and 75 million respectively by 2030. This is the big picture.’
She added that in writing these short stories she hopes to give a glimpse of the ‘small picture’ the everyday experiences of individuals and family members who are coping with the condition.
‘This may sound as if it makes very grim and depressing reading and a few of the stories are indeed heart-achingly sad but some are smile-inducing, some downright funny and others are poignant.’
For anyone with a family member who has Alzheimer’s, the stories will touch their heart, and for those who know nothing about Alzheimer’s, they give an enlightened look at the disease and how it impacts family and loved ones.
(2nd December 2017 – Argus)
Anne Boylan
I started reading this book on the Dublin train to Cork and found I couldn’t put it down. It was a bit embarrassing because one minute I was laughing out loud and the next minute I had tears streaming down my face. The journey flew by and I couldn’t believe it when the train pulled into my station and I was on the last story. I enjoyed the book so much that I wanted to read it again. I now have it beside my bed and read one of the fifteen stories every night in bed.
Paula McGahon
I enjoyed this book immensely. The fifteen short stories are very varied, ranging from sad to hilarious. The stories are also very informative about Alzheimer’s, but in a gentle way. I think this book would be very useful to a family who had recently got a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s for one of their family members.
Philomena Mac Geraghty
When my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I immediately started Googling to find out more about it. Was I sorry I did! What I read scared the hell out of me. A friend recommended that I read “Thanks for the Memories” because, according to her, it gives an awful lot of information about Alzheimer’s but in a gentle, non threatening way. I bought the book and found out that she was perfectly right. In addition, I was glad to find out that the short stories were not all doom and gloom either. They were all told with sensitivity and many with humor. This book is a good start for anyone whose loved one has got a recent diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.
Sinead McGonigle
I love a book that makes you laugh in one part and cry in another. “Thanks for the Memories” did just that. I
challenge you to read the short story “The Wardrobe” and have two completely dry eyes at the end. “The Lost Teeth” on the other hand made me laugh out loud.