Marianne Sciucco of AlzAuthors interviewed me and put together a podcast for your listening pleasure. Check it out, here.
She asks me lots of great questions about myself and my new book, “Alzheimer’s, Dementia, & Memory Loss: A Helpful Guide for Caregivers.” Available now on Amazon in paperback and ebook for Kindle.
Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW
1. Plan well in advance: Give yourself enough time (3-4 weeks) to plan the event and invite guests.
2. Recruit a sponsor who can get more exposure for their generosity. They can pay for refreshments for example. Give them a table so they can have brochures and business cards available to your guests.
3. Choose the right venue: Select a venue that is appropriate for the type of event you want to have. Plan for about 40 people.
4. Create a guest list: Invite friends, family, media contacts, politicians, and other important people to your book launch party. Have an RSVP contact number. Follow up with your guests.
5. Consider holding a fundraiser to compliment the theme of your book. Offer to donate a portion of your sales to a charity. Take a collection. Set up an online donation page.
6. Promote the event: use social media and other marketing channels to promote your book launch party. Make posters and send them out.
7. Enlist people to: take photos, take a video, help with other tasks as needed.
8. Offer refreshments: Provide snacks and drinks for your guests to enjoy. Your sponsor can pay for this!
9. Greet people as they arrive. Let them know how much you appreciate them.
10. Prepare a presentation and tell your guests about your book. Provide a Powerpoint presentation with visuals to make it more interesting. Present some background on your book and read some passages. Let your guests know what inspired you. Aim for 20-30 minutes or so. Leave time for questions!
11. Make it interactive: Encourage guests to engage with the book’s topic by having activities or discussions related to the book’s theme.
12. Provide door prizes. Everyone likes to win something!
13. Have copies of the book available for purchase: Make sure to have copies of your book available for purchase at the event, so guests can take home a copy. Prepare to sign the books, too!
14. Prepare a small flyer as a takeaway if they aren’t ready to buy the book or want to bring back information to someone else.
15. Share your news on social media (photos, videos).
16. Thank your guests: Show your appreciation to the guests who attended your book launch party by sending thank-you notes or other small gestures.
17. Follow up with media contacts and guests after the event to thank them for attending and see if they have any feedback or opportunities for future promotion.
Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW
Made with the help of ChatGPT.
January is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and I am planning to launch my newest book, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, & Memory Loss: A Helpful Guide for Caregivers on Wednesday, January 25th, 2023, 7:30 – 8:30 pm, at Smitty’s, 1629 Kenaston Blvd. here in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
I hope you can make it! Seating is limited so please let me know if you plan to be there.
Please help me out and share this with anyone you feel would be interested in attending.
Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW
Here in Canada, January is Alzheimer’s Awareness month. To commemorate this event, I am thrilled to announce the release of my newest book, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, & Memory Loss: A Helpful Guide for Caregivers (2022). This book has been in the making for a few years now and I am pleased with its completion. It is available for purchase on Amazon in paperback and ebook (Kindle) format.
Alzheimer’s, Dementia, & Memory Loss is a fully revised and expanded version of my book, Caring for a Husband with Dementia. Caring for a Husband with Dementia, written in 2015, has been my number one seller and this new book is sure to enlighten everyone. It is written in gender-neutral language and will be relevant for all care partners and those who provide assistance and help to those struggling with cognitive decline and neurocognitive disorders.
My idea for this book came to me not long after I published, Caring for a Husband with Dementia. I had people asking me, “Where is the book for us husbands?” and “Where is my book? I am a child of a parent with dementia.” This got me thinking. So I started by having men who were caregivers look over the book. I had one man who was unable to complete his mission. So I had to continue to search for the right person(s) to help me.
Dubbed the “first aid kit” and “quintessential survival guide” for caregivers.
Eventually, I developed a friendship (through an online caregiver support group) with a man named Brent Hoag, whose wife Sally had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease a few years prior. He was very keen on helping me and agreed to review the book from a male caregiver’s perspective. He is a prolific writer in support groups and online, so I knew he would be a great choice. His contributions to this book project were so valuable that I included his name on the front cover!
Brent’s contributions to Alzheimer’s, Dementia, & Memory Loss include a chapter on humour and his words of wisdom, experience, and advice are sprinkled throughout the book. You can sense the love for his wife in his words and the challenges he endured and how he handled them with loving care.
In this expanded volume I include special chapters on delirium, drinking, driving, and doggy dementia. In the seven years since I wrote my first book on dementia, caregivers have come to me with some very challenging situations that are unfortunately more common than we realize. The dementia-affected brain can pose so many difficult situations for caregivers, so this book is sure to shed some light on how to cope and manage.
Topics include:
These 210 pages are full of support, tips, and advice that everyone can learn from whether you are a informal care provider or a formal caregiver. Problems with one’s memory and recalling recent events is often one of the first signs of dementia. I have included the term “memory loss” in the title in case a failing memory is the main problem one is having.
If you would like to purchase a copy, I always have some available on hand, or you can purchase the book online from Amazon. Contact me for any other inquiries, or click on these links to go to Amazon (USA – change country if needed):
Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW
Angela G. Gentile is a clinical social worker who has worked with thousands of clients and their families. She has a specialization in aging and has been working with older adults for more than 25 years. Angela is married, has two adult children, and lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
For more information: AngelaGGentile.com
It’s an amazing feat to publish your first book at age 76! I am very proud of my friend, Cheryl Cels, who has self-published her first children’s book which took her four years to complete. It stars her two grandchildren, Jake and Hudson, and takes them on a historical Canadian time-travel adventure.
What a Journey! is a work of historical fiction. The story is about two young teen siblings who fall into the river, magically taking them back to the early days of the Red River Settlement in Manitoba, around the year 1815. Their lives are saved over and over again by Chief Peguis and his family and the Anishinaabe people who are very hospitable and supportive.
The history presented in the book has been well-researched and Cheryl states the facts are accurate. The information is based on published accounts of the early days of the Red River Settlement. Cheryl adds, “It’s not a boring story though, because it’s about two fun-loving young teens who the readers like to learn about as they follow them on their amazing journey.”
Cheryl states this easy-to-read book is very timely. People are opening their minds and their hearts to Indigenous people – wanting to know more about what they battled through. What a Journey! provides an opportunity for understanding with lots of good information. The photos and illustrations help bring the story to life.
Cheryl started writing her book in 2018. She took a class at McNally Robinson to learn how to write children’s books. She then was inspired by her two grandchildren, Jake and Hudson, who are the main characters. In real life, they currently live beside “The Passage” in Charleswood (a neighbourhood in Winnipeg, Manitoba) which is referred to in the book.
Cheryl ran into some roadblocks in getting her book published. Prior to hiring an editor, she had sent the manuscript to a few publishers, but it was rejected. Cheryl got discouraged and so she put it away. She hadn’t touched it for a long time.
Her breakthrough came when Jamie Maes, a grade five teacher, asked her if she could read the book aloud to her class as part of the social studies curriculum. She found it helped her students learn about the Red River Settlers, the Hudson’s Bay Company, the NorthWest Company, and the Indigenous people who were so kind and helpful to the main characters, Jake and Hudson. Cheryl states, “Jamie Maes got me going again, and that’s when I finished it! If she hadn’t helped and encouraged me, this book would never have happened.”
Cheryl’s hopes are that the book will be widely enjoyed by all ages and she would love to see it used in Manitoba schools. Teacher are encouraged to put more Indigenous content into their classrooms and this book has Anishinaabe language, characters, and truth. It describes how very kind and helpful they were to the settlers.
Cheryl Cels is a University of Manitoba Social Work graduate, and has lived in Winnipeg most of her life. She has always enjoyed writing and has a strong interest in Canada’s history.
To purchase a copy of this book (for $20), you can contact myself (by using the contact form below) and I will get you connected with Cheryl.
Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW
Have a listen to my interview with Dr. Andrea Wilkinson on the BrainShape Podcast, “Flourish or Fade with Angela Gentile.” Episode #121.
It was fun being a guest for the second time with Dr. Andrea. My book, Flourish or Fade: A guide to total well-being for women at midlife and beyond is available on Amazon. For more information on Dr. Andrea, please check out her website, https://www.brainshape.ca/ I hope you enjoy the interview!
Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW
I have been working on my books and I have two updates to tell you about.
My newest book, “Flourish or Fade: A guide to total well-being for women at midlife and beyond” (2021) is now available in hardcover! This is the first book that I have been able to make into a hardcover version. Amazon had approached me to see if I would be interested in trying out this new feature they were offering, so I took them up on it. Let me know if you decided to get a copy of it in hardcover. I would love to know what you think.
I have updated the paperback version of “Caring for a Husband with Dementia” for 2021. I have taken out some links that no longer worked. Many of the links were from the “Alzheimer’s Reading Room” which has been removed off the internet. I have also added a reference to a book by Marie Marley and Daniel C. Potts which has a lot of the information that was in the links which have been removed. Their book is called, “Finding Joy in Alzheimer’s: New Hope for Caregivers” (2015).
Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW
Angela Gentile’s newest book is now available for purchase from Amazon.
>>>Buy the Paperback on Amazon ($16.99 USD)
>>>Buy the ebook (Kindle) on Amazon ($5.99 USD)
TAKE CHARGE OF THE WAY YOU AGE
Flourish or Fade: A guide to total well-being for women at midlife and beyond provides you with the information and tools needed to improve life satisfaction. The Flower of Wellness Method will help you devise a plan to balance your body, mind, and soul.
You will learn how to enhance your overall well-being by exploring the ten dimensions of wellness:
Physical, Emotional, Brain, Social, Sexual, Spiritual, Environmental, Recreational, Financial, and Occupational.
This anti-ageist, realistic, and optimistic approach to life in the middle years and beyond will provide you with inspiration and tips that will have you feeling confident, happy, and satisfied with whatever may come your way.
The Flower of Wellness Method is a fresh and contemporary approach to finding balance.
Do you want to flourish or fade in the later years? It’s your choice.
Angela G. Gentile, M.S.W., R.S.W., is a registered clinical social worker/specialist in aging with more than 25 years of experience working with older adults and their families. She was born and raised in Ontario and now lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Celebrate National Women’s Health Week with us! On May 11, 2021, at 8:00 pm CST, Angela G. Gentile will be hosting a Zoom book launch for her newest book, “Flourish or Fade.” Register on Eventbrite to attend. There are a number of awesome books, services, and products that have been donated by some amazing women to help make this book event special. Please see the list below and enter to win! (see Contest Details below).
“Free Phase II Accountability Calls with Dr. Andrea of BrainShape” ($300 CAD value)
Accountability Appointments take place via TWO 60-minute video calls.
CALL 1: Discuss your concerns and struggles + build a plan to help you address them (e.g., sleeping difficulties, chronically stressed, low energy, lacking mental focus, etc.) Whatever the problem, let’s talk about it & build a plan you can implement right away.
CALL 2: Accountability Appointment to check-in on the goals you set out in Call 1.
The winner of the BrainShape Services prize will book their INITIAL CALL by visiting www.BrainShape.ca/call and book a time in Dr. Andrea’s calendar. This is a free offering of the supportive elements provided inside the Brain Vitality Blueprint, and helps people take the first step towards improving their health and well-being.
This card deck is a self-help, personal-development tool with 52 questions for you to ask yourself. Every question starts with “What would be possible for me if I…?”, to prompt you to let go of your old, limiting thoughts, beliefs and stories about yourself and the world, choose more useful ones, take inspired action, and improvise more resourceful, joyful ways of being. Kay was born in Scotland, grew up in Australia, and has lived in Hong Kong for 27 years. She’s passionate about personal development and healing, and is also an improv performer. The deck costs $20 USD plus postage from Hong Kong (the full amount depends on the number of decks ordered and the destination).
https://playgroundofpossibilities.com/card-deck/
Do you live with regrets from the past, and fear the unknowns of the future?
It’s time to let go of fears and regrets and live for today. Seize the Moment! is your mini-guide to grab the present moment and live for today. It includes three bonus worksheets that will help you become more mindful. (Everyday mindfulness tips, practicing mindfulness, and becoming present for peace of mind.) Note: eReader not included.
https://www.vitalaging4women.com
“The Unexpected Journey of Caring: The Transformation From Loved One to Caregiver” by Donna Thomson and Zachary White, PhD with a foreword by Judy Woodruff (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019) Available at all online booksellers Hardcover – $39.00 CAD)
With a foreword by Judy Woodruff, The Unexpected Journey of Caring is a practical guide to finding personal meaning in the 21st century care experience.
Personal transformation is usually an experience we actively seek out—not one that hunts us down. Becoming a caregiver is one transformation that comes at us, requiring us to rethink everything we once knew. Everything changes—responsibilities, beliefs, hopes, expectations, and relationships. Caregiving is not just a role reserved for “saints”—eventually, everyone is drafted into the caregiver role. It’s not a role people medically train for; it’s a new type of relationship initiated by a loved one’s need for care. And it’s a role that cannot be quarantined to home because it infuses all aspects of our lives.
Caregivers today find themselves in need of a crash course in new and unfamiliar skills. They must not only care for a loved one, but also access hidden community resources, collaborate with medical professionals, craft new narratives consistent with the changing nature of their care role, coordinate care with family, seek information and peer support using a variety of digital platforms, and negotiate social support—all while attempting to manage conflicts between work, life, and relationship roles. The moments that mark us in the transition from loved one to caregiver matter because if we don’t make sense of how we are being transformed, we risk undervaluing our care experiences, denying our evolving beliefs, becoming trapped by other’s misunderstandings, and feeling underappreciated, burned out, and overwhelmed.
Informed by original caregiver research and proven advocacy strategies, this book speaks to caregiving as it unfolds, in all of its confusion, chaos, and messiness. Readers won’t find well-intentioned clichés or care stereotypes in this book. There are no promises to help caregivers return to a life they knew before caregiving. No, this book greets caregivers where they are in their journey—new or chronic—not where others expect (or want) them to be.
“Nobody grows up planning to be a caregiver, but many of us will become one and sometimes when we least expect it. Thomson and White bring powerful insights to help understand what it means to be a caregiver and how to truly support those of us who will travel this unexpected journey.” – Samir K. Sinha, director of geriatrics, Sinai Health System and University Health Network, Toronto; health policy research director, National Institute on Ageing
https://www.eleanorsilverberg.com/kit-book
Good luck!
Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW
Integrative Medicine and Cancer
It’s been one year since the release of my latest book, “Cancer Up the Wazoo” and to celebrate I am offering another chapter for free! Chapter 17 is about my beliefs and experiences with “integrative medicine.”
Check out the PDF “Integrative Medicine” on how complementary therapies combined with conventional treatment can help provide the best treatment for a diagnosis of cancer.
(The other chapter I offer for free is on Anal Cancer Basics.)
If you would like to read the rest of the book, it is available on Amazon.
Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW
Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW 