This is a general update and request to the community as a whole. It pertains to the care-giving book that Shadan7 and I co-authored with our wives. As this is more of a status update and personal request than anything else, I ask that nobody republish it into any other group, particularly not CareGiving Kos, as this diary is not in-and-of-itself about care-giving.
It is, more than anything else, a request to help us get the word out about the book and hopefully spread the news about it, ideally to simultaneously help others while increasing sales of both the Kindle and print version.
So, if you still haven't had a chance to help out with other ongoing concerns like the crisis in East Africa, please take care of those issues first.
And with that said, I humbly ask those of you who are still here to join me below the fold...
I've written many diaries here, spanning a variety of topics ranging from pets to politics, science to healthcare, citizen journalism to snark. This group of people has grown from simply a political blog to a powerful community of engaged, thoughtful & diverse people all striving to participate in making our world a better place.
We have people providing insights into the economy, civil rights, science, the environment, politics and government - all posting alongside folks who are sharing personal stories, pet stories, comics and opinion pieces that can engage as well as challenge.
The cover of Her Final Year.
It was into this environment that both Shadan7 and I started contributing bits and pieces of our ongoing care-giving experiences - he for his Martha Sr., and me for "Mumsie" (a.k.a. Georgia). It was here that we both "met" during that time, and where the initial concept for
Her Final Year: A Care-Giving Memoir was born.
We've now completed the book, and published it. It's available exclusively on Amazon,1 in both electronic and print editions.
Now we just have to get the word out.
And that's why I'd like to share an update on the status of things with you now, as well as ask you to help us out through sharing, liking and tweeting about the book or the underlying stories. First, the updates:
We have two reviews currently up on Amazon.com; they are both positive, and neither are from family.2 We've given away more books as "thank yous" and promotional pieces than we've sold so far - surprisingly, the Kindle sales are relatively anemic (one so far) compared to the print edition (twelve). Here's an excerpt from one of the reviews:
It takes a long time to die from dementia, and the process is marked by a series of declines and plateaus. I am entering the final stage of this process with my own mom who is 92, and I found this book to be very useful and moving. I read it in a single sitting. Highly recommended.
That was the review by Pam Crabtree. (Thank you, Pam.) And here's a brief excerpt from the other one:
Although not "literature" the book is well written/presented and read with an intensity that became physically palpable for me.
I highly recommend this for anyone with aging friends and relatives as well as those dealing more directly with the immediate issues of care giving. Even if you are blessed enough never to have to go through what the authors did I think you will find reading the book worthwhile for the insights into what so many others are going through.
That was from the review by James Kasper. (Thank you, James.) We also received a kindly shout-out from DailyKos's own cfk which we greatly appreciated. cfk is currently reading Her Final Year - we're hoping she likes it. It's a bit different than the diaries we'd published here, although the content from many of them made it into the book.
If you know of anybody who is currently going through the care-giving process, or has already gone through it - or if you are now either entering or engaged in it - please mention considering Her Final Year: A Care-Giving Memoir to the family.
Even if you don't know anyone currently engaged in a care-giving role, we ask that you go to our Facebook page and click "Like." Share it if you think that someone among your own FB contacts might benefit from the book. And if you know anyone in the media who might be interested in learning more about the book, the care-giving experience or in speaking with Shadan7 or myself about any aspect of it (including the book-writing & publishing process), don't hesitate to share the links to both the Facebook page and the book website with them.
We appreciate all the help and support we've received from this community during the entire process, and any additional help or consideration you can provide now to help us get our project off the ground would be fantastic.
Thank you. Namaste.
__________
Footnotes
__________
1 Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de to be specific.
2 No reviews from close family, yet. James is a friend of Shadan7's; his review is his honest & straightforward assessment based on his direct observation of the care-giving process as well as his reading of the final product.