New Book Published For Alzheimer's Caregivers

Online, January 3, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Alzheimer's is a terrible disease. It impacts millions of Americans and an even greater number of caregivers. An estimated 10.9 million family members and friends provide a whopping 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care for persons with Alzheimer's or similar dementia. Providing this care is often unbelievably difficult and stressful. It can cause significant physical and mental health problems.

Stress relief for caregivers takes many forms, ranging from group recreation and sports to support groups to individual creative work, including writing, journaling, and poetry.

"Breaking the Silence" fills a need in the latter areas. It combines poetry, journal entries, and how-to advice. Frances weaves her own poetry (and the poetry and journal entries of six other Alzheimer's caregivers) with advice for the novice poet. It's a handbook for caregiving survival.

"Alzheimer's caregivers must cope with incredible pressure, constant anxiety, and difficult decisions," says Kakugawa. "I wanted to write a book that would help both the person who's now a caregiver and the one who will be one soon."

Kakugawa builds on her first-hand experience as a caregiver, as well as her background as a support group moderator and a teacher. The book is filled with real-life experiences (told in poetry and prose by the contributors) and Frances' commentary about what's been written. The final section of the book is a 30-page "how-to" guide. She outlines how to start and describes what typical support group sessions are like. And the section includes helpful poetry examples, too!

Frances was born in Hawai'i in the village of Kapoho. Becoming a teacher, she taught in Hawai'i and Michigan, and lectured at the University of Hawai'i. She is the author of nine books, including two directly related to Alzheimer's disease.

In 1997, Frances became the primary caregiver for her mother, Matsue, who had developed Alzheimer's. Frances found that poetry and journaling helped her to manage the tremendous burden of care. This inspired her to start a journaling and poetry writing support group for caregivers through the Aloha Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

For more information on Breaking the Silence, visit http://www.btsilence.com. For information on the book launch, visit http://www.bookloverscafe.com.