Marianne Sciucco is not a nurse who writes but a writer who happens to be a nurse, using her skills and experience to create stories that bear witness to the humanity in all of us. She writes contemporary, women's and young adult fiction.  Marianne is an author, co-founder and manager at AlzAuthors.com, the global community of authors writing about Alzheimer's and dementia from personal experience.

A lover of words and books, she studied the craft of writing as an English major at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and worked for a time as a newspaper reporter in New England. She eventually became a registered nurse to avoid poverty. 

With more than 20 years’ of experience as a staff nurse and case manager, she's worked with countless families dealing with issues related to aging, elder care, Alzheimer's, and nursing home placement. In 2002, she put the two together and began writing about the intricate lives of people struggling with health and family issues. She published her debut novel, Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer's love story, in 2013 to glowing reviews. 

This book led her to become a co-founder and director of AlzAuthors, the global community of authors writing about Alzheimer's and dementia from personal experience to light the way for others. She is the podcast producer and host of Untangling Alzheimer’s and Dementia, an AlzAuthors podcast. Visit AlzAuthors.com.

She shares that a lot of the books are memoirs and the authors are raw and honest about their experiences, which can help others feel less alone in their struggles and well as pick up some tips and tricks for coping day-to-day. There are often resources shared as well, and some of the books are more of a caregiver guide.

The resources available on the website are helpful because, in Marianne's words, "Many times people are isolated and they feel like they're alone because they don't know anybody or they think they don't know anybody else that's going through this situation. So when they read a book, somebody's story...say they're caring for their mom. They read a book about somebody else that has cared for their mom. It helps them see 'I'm not alone and this person has learned all of this stuff. And maybe I can try some of it, too' ... there's just a lot of trial and error in dementia care and what works one day may not work the next."

Marianne talks about the importance of having a schedule when caring for someone with dementia, both for them and their care, but also to schedule in some time for your own self-care. 

She then goes on to give tips about avoiding communication overwhelm by coming up with a system to keep friends and family in the loop without taking up huge amounts of time. 

Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Dementia... But Were Afraid to Ask, a Virtual Q&A 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eHEloVBTY4

https://alzauthors.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AlzAuthors/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/alzauthors/

https://www.instagram.com/alzauthors/

https://twitter.com/alzauthors

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLhTqQchoTUPk17w5oBEmjQ

https://www.pinterest.ca/alzauthors/_created/

Follow Marianne on her blog MarianneSciucco.com, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

---------------------------

Stressed out but not sure how to change it?

Decrease your stress in a week or less (even if you don't have much time or energy)

Grab my brand new free “7 Days to Less Stress guide” at https://www.jennylytle.com/guide and uncover the secret to less stress without a lot of effort.

https://www.jennylytle.com/guide

Until next time, take a deep breath or two and never stop becoming the best version of YOU!