Angela G. Gentile, book launch for Alzheimer’s, Dementia, & Memory Loss
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.
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).
Flourish or Fade
1. Angela G. Gentile: “Flourish or Fade: A guide to total well-being for women at midlife and beyond” (paperback, $21.00 CAD value). Now available!
BrainShape Accountability Calls
2. Dr. Andrea Wilkinson: BrainShape Accountability Calls ($300.00 CAD value)
“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.
How I Made a Huge Mess of My Life
3. Billie Best:“How I Made a Huge Mess of My Life” (paperback, $12.99 USD value)
5. Kay Ross: “The Playground of Possibilities” (card deck, $20.00 USD value)
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).
6. Camille Goscicki, of Vitalaging4women, “Seize the Moment! A Guide to Living in the Present” (ebook, $4.99 USD value)
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.
7. Donna Thomson: The Unexpected Journey of Caring (hardcover book, $39.00 CAD value).
“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
Contest open to adults aged 18+, worldwide. No purchase necessary.
Identify which prize(s) you would like to win. Submit the item name/number, your name and email address to Angela at caretoage@gmail.com. (Your name and email address will not be given out to anyone else, unless it is required in order for you to obtain your prize(s)).
One entry per person, per item.
Entries accepted from Wednesday April 21, 2021 at 5:00 pm CST until Saturday May 15, 2021 at 12:00 noon CST.
Winners will be drawn on or before Sunday May 16, 2021 at 12:00 noon CST.
Qualified winners will be notified by email and your mailing address will be required so we can ship you your prize.
Every attempt will be made to get your prize to you, however, in the unfortunate event there are restrictions in your country, you will be ineligible. In that case, another draw will be made to seek a suitable winner.
On Thursday, September 27, 2018, my two latest books Cancer Up the Wazoo and How to Edit an Anthology were presented and launched at McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was also a fundraiser for the “CancerCare Manitoba Foundation.” 60 people attended and Tache Pharmacy sponsored the beverages. There were also decorated sugar cookies (made with love by me, Sheila and Simone) and brownies (made by Cupp, my husband).
Cancer Up the Wazoo, How to Edit an Anthology, Hope symbol, and Me (Angela Gentile)
I also revealed my latest project — a symbol of HOPE. It includes the anal cancer ribbon in green and purple and a dragonfly. The logo was created with the talented help from Fusion Communications. The dragonfly is a creation of Chinese brush artist Virginia Lloyd-Davies. Her artwork is also found in the book, Cancer Up the Wazoo. I have plans to help share this beautiful logo with those as a symbol of strength and hope.
Although there are 25 people who contributed to the book, only 5 of us were able to be at the launch. These three short speeches were very touching.
Three guest speakers. Left to right: Lynda Sie Greaves, Maureen Warren, Me (Angela Gentile) and Virginia Davis Wilson).
Me and Father Sam, one of my esteemed guests!
The presentation was 26 minutes in total. I have put it on YouTube, in two parts.
Part 1:
Part 2:
People bought books and I signed them if they wanted me to!
Overall, the launch was a success and we raised $300 for the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation! In addition to that, $1 from the sale of each copy of Wazoo will be donated to the HPV and Anal Cancer Foundation.
BOOK LAUNCH: Thursday, September 27, 2018, 7:00pm. McNally Robinson Booksellers—1120 Grant Ave., Winnipeg. Refreshments served!
Generously sponsored by Tache Pharmacy
Inspirational. Empowering. Enlightening.
Anal cancer strikes approximately 1 in 500 people, and incidence is on the rise. More women than men are affected. There is little information on this rare, frightening, embarrassing, and often-stigmatized cancer. Although treatment can be quite traumatizing for some, the outcomes are usually positive. Being prepared can help you deal with this life-changing diagnosis.
Cancer Up the Wazoo includes chapters and excerpts written by those whose lives have been affected by anal cancer. Topics include:
Anal cancer basics
Help for the newly diagnosed
Pelvic radiation disease (PRD)
Mental health and coping
Cancer “blessings”
Sexual issues (that arise)
Shame and stigma
Family and friends’ experiences
Advocating for change
Helpful supplies list
Support and resource reference
… and much more!
This book is filled with tips and personal stories to help prepare and support you (and your loved ones). You will laugh, cry, and be amazed as you read stories of courage and resilience from people who “get it.” There are many resources and supports available to help you cope. You are not alone: Cancer Up the Wazoo will help you feel more confident, prepared, and hopeful as you face this daunting cancer diagnosis.
Angela will also be launching her other new book, How to Edit an Anthology! Come to hear about both books!
Other books by Angela:
Angela G. Gentile, B.S.W., M.S.W., is a registered social worker and is employed as a Geriatric Mental Health Clinician in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is married to Agapito and has two adult children, Lorenzo and Simone. Angela enjoys writing, reading, and travelling and considers herself a realistic optimist. For more info: www.AngelaGGentile.com
Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW 