Please join us as we welcome Vermont author Jane Dwinell to Phoenix Books in Burlington for a discussion of her new book, Alzheimer's Canyon: One Couple's Reflections on Living with Dementia.
"In the middle of the night I wake up and don't know where I am . . . . Am I in my house? My neighbor's house? Do I turn on the light? Do I get dressed? I turn to Jane, hold her hand, and let her bring me back to reality."
What do you do when your reality slips away? If you're Sky Yardley and Jane Dwinell, you accept each new challenge, reshape your life, and write.
When Sky was diagnosed with "probable early stage Alzheimer's" at age 66, he was determined to live as fully with his new reality as possible. He researched dementia, talked about dementia, connected with other people with the disease, and, finally, he wrote about it. With humor and honesty, love and compassion, Sky and his wife Jane describe what it's like to live with a constantly evolving and mysterious new life. "The brain is a mysterious thing," writes Jane, as Sky muses about traveling unmapped roads with no GPS.
Welcome to Alzheimer's Canyon: there is one way in, and no way out. Follow Sky and Jane as they navigate this journey they did not ask to take, a journey that balances pain, loss, and confusion with gratitude, wonder, and transformation.
Sky Yardley & Jane Dwinell were together for 36 years. They raised two children, for many years had a small farm, and retired in their fifties to travel and do volunteer work. They both had successful careers—Sky as a family mediator, and Jane as an RN, freelance writer, and Unitarian Universalist minister. In 1992, Jane authored Birth Stories: Mystery, Power and Creation. As an avocation together they designed and built seven houses and renovated two others. Sky was diagnosed with “probable early stage Alzheimer’s disease” in the summer of 2016. He had been showing signs of memory loss since 2012, most significantly since 2015. He was 66 when he was diagnosed. Jane was 62. Sky died in 2021, after chronicling with Jane his five-year decline from this fatal disease, the sixth-leading cause of death in the US.
Please note, masks are strongly encouraged but no longer required for vaccinated attendees. We can’t predict the future course of the pandemic, so Phoenix Books reserves the right to institute masking and/or vaccination rules for this event as circumstances dictate.
DATE: Thursday, November 3rd at 7:00pm
LOCATION: Phoenix Books Burlington, 191 Bank Street, downtown Burlington
TICKETS: $3. Your ticket comes with a coupon for $3 off any of the author's books. Coupons expire at closing the evening of the event. Tickets can be purchased at the registration link below, or at the door.
PRE-ORDERS: Can't make it to the event but still want to purchase a signed, personalized copy of Alzheimer's Canyon? Click HERE. Copies will be available after the event on November 3rd. If you ordered a book for store pick up, we will contact you as soon as it's ready. If you ordered a book with shipping, please allow an additional 7-10 days for delivery.