My mom, Jerie, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in July 2010, at the age of 62. I was just 25 years old at the time. For the first few years, I had a very difficult time coping with my mom’s disease and felt that I had nowhere to turn for advice. Being a younger caregiver, I found it very difficult to find anyone who could relate to what I was going through. I started the Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s blog in 2014 in order to share my Alzheimer’s story with others, with the hope that it might help someone who was going through the same thing.
After a while, people began encouraging me to write a book, so I did. I self-published my first book Learning to Weather the Storm: A Story of Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s in 2017. And I self-published my second book When Only Love Remains: Surviving My Mom’s Battle with Early Onset Alzheimer’s in 2021. Both books are available on all Amazon marketplaces.
In 2021, I launched my affordable mentoring services for Alzheimer’s daughters. It has always been a dream and goal of mine to help as many other women who are caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s as I can. For more information on my mentoring services, click here.
In many ways, the Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s blog serves as my online journal. It has been very therapeutic for me to write down all of my thoughts and feelings as we navigated this horrific disease for ten long years. Although my mom passed away in April 2020, I continue to share my story in hopes that it will comfort and inspire others who are on this difficult journey.
The name of my blog says it all. I tell stories of life, love, and Alzheimer’s. I must warn you that I will make you cry at times, but I promise to make you laugh, as well. And, I promise to always, always, always keep it real.
Thank you for coming along on this journey with me. I hope you enjoy the ride.
I’m not an expert on Alzheimer’s disease, but I am an expert on loving someone who has it.
Lauren Dykovitz
Its a great idea!
Hi Lauren, I just discovered your blog – I will read it from beginning. I’m currently caregiver to my mom who is in later stages, and lives with me full time since pandemic began. Your blog has already helped me a lot. I love your writing style and I wanted to share with you a something that was sent to me about writing. How can I send this to you (if you want) ?
Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth. Thank you so much. I’m so sorry to hear about your mom. You can email me at lauren@lifeloveandalzheimers.com.
Lauren I just stumbled onto your article about living with someone with Alzheimer’s who is still alive. In my situation it is my husband Dan and my mom. Mom has been in memory care for 4 years and Dan has been showing symptoms of vascular dementia since 2019. Your article was amazing and I wish I could give it to all my friends and loved ones so that they could really understand what it is like to live with this disease. I cry so much I’m surprised I still have tears left. Thank you for describing so eloquently what it is truly like. I’m am sending a copy of the article to my friend whose husband has Lewy body Alzheimer’s and liver cancer. Thank you again, you are a wonderful writer❤️
Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m so sorry you’re going through this! I’m glad my article resonated and helped. Be sure to check out my books on Amazon! Sending lots of love!