Carolyn Birrell Author "Walking with Fay"

“Walking with Fay - My Mother’s Uncharted Path Into Dementia” by Carolyn Birrell

Carolyn Birrell retired to Bonners Ferry, ID, in 2006, after living in Atlanta, GA, for 20 years where she worked for the American Cancer Society National Headquarters and then as a real estate agent and a new home builder. She began caring for her aging mother shortly after her move and started chronicling her journey.

What began as a written collection of her mother’s difficult behaviors during dementia’s earliest stages quickly turned into a comprehensive book that she continued to update until the inevitable end of her mother’s disease.

In this interview, Carolyn talks about her years long journey with her mother and Alzheimer’s dementia, and how her journals turned into a book.

An estimated 6.2 million Americans aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2021.