A volunteer at Yeovil Hospital is launching her first book, For Peter’s Sake, a personal account of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, during national Carers’ Week, which starts today (Monday 6 June).
Sue Finer, a former nurse, has written the book after caring for her husband Peter, who developed the condition at the early age of 50, for ten years.
She said of the experience: “He was too young to have dementia, or so I thought. Writing these diaries originally was cathartic — a way of trying to rationalise and make sense of what was happening in our lives. But when a friend, similarly struggling, later suggested I wrote about these experiences, a seed was sown.
“So much is written in the media and I read many excellent books on the subject. But none of them really gave me a true insight of what was to come, of the devastating and destructive reality of living with Alzheimer’s disease. I felt it might be of some use to others facing a similar future.”
National Carers’ Week runs from Monday 6 to Sunday 12 June. Last year 6.5m* people were estimated to be carers, a number which continues to rise.
After his death in 2010, Sue moved to Dorset and joined Yeovil Hospital as a volunteer, where she is actively involved in using her experiences to help care for patients living with dementia, and their families.
Proceeds from the book will be divided between Yeovil Hospital Charity, to benefit patients with dementia directly, and the Alzheimer’s Society.
For Peter’s Sake will be available to buy in the hospital canteen and on Amazon.
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