By Suzanne Bottum-Jones, RN

Nice To Meet You… Again is the representation of years of sitting with families as a Registered Nurse, holding their hands, witnessing their frustrations, and sharing in their journeys through dementia. After fifteen years of wishing for a tool to help families learn strategies and see hope for their interactions, my father developed dementia, and I decided I needed to move my teaching outside of myself as the deliverer and multiply the effects that I, alone, could not make.  As I prepped for this, I remembered the countless families that made their final decision to stop visiting their loved ones because it was so upsetting to see the changes in their loved one and because of their fear of how these visits were affecting their children. This became my mission: to develop a tool that would help families change these moments of frustration by giving them the tools to help “see” a different expectation and journey, and change the flavor of their interactions.

In the short time the book has been available I have been blessed with  many responses from families of how they wished they would have had this resource when they were in this journey, or how it is currently changing their journeys and giving them back their joy with their loved one.  Professionals and family caregivers have stated they carry the book with them because hardly a day goes by in which someone they know or meet shares their journey of dementia. By offering this book, they state that they feel like they can finally do more then just say, “I understand;” in addition they can offer hope. Continue reading →