Dr. Don Wendorf Psy.D.

I'm Don Wendorf, Psy.D., LMFT. Those letters mean a Doctor of Psychology Degree in 1977 from Baylor University and then a Licensed Psychologist since 1978 and a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT) in Alabama. I worked over 40 years as a psychologist specializing in marriage and family therapy, first in the Psychiatry Department of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, then at the private practice Family Therapy Associates with my twin Bob (and Sharon and Harriett) and then at Pitts and Associates with my old buddy, Bert Pitts. I retired in January 2013 to be the full-time caregiver for my wife of over 40 years, Susan Elizabeth Black, who had become increasingly disabled from a series of little and not so little strokes dating back to 1995. Susan passed away in March of 2014. We both have always been very strong believers in the commitments we made when we married. Our roots are in Texas as she's from Dallas and I lived for years in Waco when Pop was a Baylor law professor. He was originally from West, about 15 miles away. Susan and I raised two highly interesting sons, Paul and David, who married Christina and Jennifer, respectively and then produced the five grandest grandchildren in the history of homo sapiens: Fritz, Jack, Mari Carmen, Berin and Rowan. I've also been a professional musician since my high school days in a rock band and German band, then as drummer in a number of jazz bands in college, including a combo with Bob and a dixieland band with Pop, and then for the last 35 years playing mandolin, mandola, clawhammer banjo, hammered dulcimer, harmonica, jew's harp and guitar in various bluegrass/bluegrass gospel bands. I've been in Shades Mountain Air over 16 years now. I am passionate about marriage and about music and have found a way to blend these in my book format of song lyric rhyming verses, with accompanying prose commentaries. Love Lyrics: The Musical Marital Manual is the only self-help marriage guide written like this, but I think it makes learning about marriage much easier, more effective and more memorable than the standard didactic approach. This is also the format for my second book, Caregiver Carols: an Emotional, Musical Memoir, that goes into my emotional struggles as a caregiver. It's to encourage other caregivers that their own feelings are tough but normal and manageable and that they are not alone. My hope is to educate about marriage and caregiving in the best possible way using this fun, funny, chatty, conversational, metaphorical, poetic, musical, experiential approach. I try to include as many practical suggestions as I can because I want to help people have the most loving relationships they can.