Is There Any Ice Cream?: Surviving the Challenges of Caregiving for a Loved One with Alzheimer's, Anxiety, and COPD (Accepting the Gift of Caregiving)

In 2018, the Alzheimer Society of Canada website showed over half a million people in Canada were living with dementia. That same year, the Alzheimer Association website reported that over 5.7 million in the US were living with a form of memory loss. Unsuspecting family members had to jump into the role of caregiver without warning or training. Often, the caregiver was a spouse. Many caregivers became confused, challenged and eventually overwhelmed from the stress of caring for their loved one.

Judith Allen Shone fell into that category. It never occurred to her to ask "what if" her love became ill and she, alone, had to become the one to take care of him. She never dreamed she would have to become a solo caregiver. But that is exactly what happened. It is from her experiences that Shone came to believe no caregiver should be walking their path afraid or all alone.

Written for all caregivers and those who support caregivers, Shone juggles humor with insight, as she chronicles the story of an untrained and desperate caregiver who, in her memoir-story style, relates her formidable experiences accompanied by the emotional chaos of caregiving for her loved one with COPD, Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, cancer, and anxiety, with occasional mysteries arising. Includes one successful intervention.

Judith Allen Shone unexpectedly became a caregiver for her loved one with unanticipated illnesses, including Alzheimer's and vascular dementia. Drawing from her caregiving experiences, Shone lovingly shares the value of having lifelines, being social, finding support, all confirming her belief that no one should have to walk their path afraid or alone.

Using her creative ingenuity and an initiative born out of a need to share experiences, she was compelled to become the author she had long held inside. The resulting memoir-series, Accepting the Gift of Caregiving, begins with "Is There Any Ice Cream?"

Shone graduated with a BA in Art from Colorado State University in 1965. This former website designer, writer and art teacher spent forty-two years in sales/marketing with exhibit firms and the corporate world in the US and Canada.

She has two grown children, two grandchildren and lives with her love and their little dog in Canada.