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.
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:
Getting a Diagnosis
Understanding Dementia
Understanding Caregiving
Asking for Help
Practical and Emotional Support
Caregiver Burnout and Self Care
Humour as a Coping Strategy
Improving Self-Esteem
Long-Term Care Placement
Loss, Grief, and Bereavement
Communication (includes Therapeutic Reasoning®)
Coping with Difficult Behaviour (the biggest chapter with tons of tips!)
Abuse and Neglect
Legal and Financial Preparedness
Delirium and the Older Adult
Problem Drinking and Dementia
Unsafe Driving
Doggy Dementia
and more!
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 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.
I have been working on my books and I have two updates to tell you about.
Now in hardcover: “Flourish or Fade”
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.
Paperback updated for 2021: “Caring for a Husband with Dementia”
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).
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 FUNDRAISER TO HELP PEOPLE COPING WITH CANCER
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA—Anal cancer survivor Angela Gentile is donating a portion of the proceeds from her Cancer Up the Wazoo book launch to help others cope with cancer. The book launch and reading will be at McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Sept. 27, 7 p.m. The donation from the sales will go to The HPV and Anal Cancer Foundation. Additionally, a coin collection will be taken for CancerCare Manitoba Foundation. Sponsored by Tache Pharmacy.
Gentile was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2017, was treated with chemoradiation, and now is cancer-free. As she searched for information and statistics after getting the diagnosis, Gentile discovered resources were even more limited than an anal cancer diagnosis which afflicts approximately 25 Manitobans each year and one in 500 people annually.
As a result, Gentile decided she would create the resource she wished she could have found. “After my diagnosis, I had difficulty finding the resources I needed that would help me. I vowed that I would create a book that would be helpful, comprehensive and diverse to help others who might get the same diagnosis I did,” Gentile said. “The result is Cancer Up the Wazoo.”
Cancer Up the Wazoo is an anthology of writings from 25 people whose stories cover a wide range of topics about cancer. Contributors include teachers, professors, nurses, social workers, technicians, clinicians, principals, counsellors, personal support workers, among others. Some of the contributors, including Gentile, have personally dealt with anal cancer while other writers have been witnesses to what cancer can do to their loved ones or people they care about. There are personal stories, interviews, references to current research, photos, art, poetry, supplies lists, hope and inspiration, self-affirmations, a glossary, and an extensive index to help readers find what they need. Specific information includes symptoms of and diagnosis of anal cancer, how to reduce the risks of getting anal cancer, advice for newly diagnosed patients, pelvic radiation disease, HPV vaccine, complementary and alternative medicine, dealing with shame and stigma, coping techniques and general resources. Another book, How to Edit an Anthology, is an offshoot and is also being launched on the 27th.
If you are unable to make the book launch and are interested in getting a copy of the book, you can purchase it on Amazon. For information about Gentile and her other publications, visit her website at https://angelaggentile.com.
I am a contributor to a collection of short stories, called The Mighty Ant, edited by Jessica Bryan. This collection will delight anyone who enjoys reading or being read to.
My two stories include “You are Never Too Old” and “For the Love of Flowers.” These are my first attempts at short-story writing.
Here’s me reading my short story called “For the Love of Flowers.”
The book is in large print and is a fundraiser for the North Carolina Chatham County Council on Aging.
Get your own copy and enjoy reading and sharing with others! The stories are also great conversation starters!
Happy reading!
Angela G. Gentile
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
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
It has been quite the journey. There is so much to learn with respect to writing an anthology. There are other words to describe this process – editing, coordinating, compiling. Anthology is a word not many have heard of before, but it means a collection of stories/works/poems, etc. The Chicken Soup for the Soul series is a popular example of an anthology series. It is very different than writing a book about one thing, by one author. While writing and producing my upcoming anthology, Cancer Up the Wazoo, I knew I had to learn a few things, but I didn’t realize how hard it would be to find information on how to do it.
Has this been one of the best-kept secrets in the book-writing world?
Why couldn’t I find a book written on how to write an anthology? Sure, there were a few good articles on the internet, but not one book on the subject!
I even made a trip to the library to see what was offered there. Nada. Nothing.
While I was waiting for my contributing authors to submit their stories and contracts, I decided to put down my experience and everything I learned into an ebook format. I love writing and helping people, so I thought this was a great way to put my two loves together. This book will be an invaluable reference tool and resource for those who want to publish a collection.
Angela G. Gentile MSW, RSW is a clinical social worker and author of the book, “Caring for a Husband with Dementia: The Ultimate Survival Guide,” “A Book About Burnout: One Social Worker’s Tale of Survival,” “How to Edit an Anthology: Write or Compile a Collection that Sells,” and the “Dementia Caregiver Solutions” app for iPhone and iPad. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba with her husband and has two adult children. For more information, visit: www.AngelaGGentile.com
Angela G. Gentile, MSW, RSW 