A regional author is bringing her very personal tale to the Penticton Public Library.
Writer, author and former teacher Leslie Davidson will give a talk and read from her memoir titled: Dancing in Small Spaces: One Couple’s Journey with Parkinson's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.
"Being a caregiver while having an illness myself and the challenges of grief and how to make connections with others, being able to tell our stories and to connect with other people is salvation in many ways," says Davidson, who will be at the Library on September 25 from 11 a.m. to noon.
She began writing in earnest after retirement, focusing on children's books, and spent time at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity drafting a memoir. But after she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and her husband, Lincoln Ford, was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, Davidson’s writing took on more of an urgency.
In her book, Davidson, "recounts the years that follow her Parkinson’s and Lincoln’s Lewy body dementia diagnoses, charting physical changes, mastering medications, the logistical puzzles of caregiving, and the steady support of their close-knit community in the small town of Grand Forks in south central British Columbia," according to the book’s synopsis.
Putting together memories of their fun adventures together was not a linear process, but more like a patchwork quilt, she added. Davidson describes Dancing in Small Spaces as the story of a long and adventurous marriage, of deep gratitude and, ultimately, of writing one’s way toward understanding and acceptance. Signed copies of the book will be available for sale from the author.
For more information, please visit: https://pentictonlibrary.ca/programs/adult-programs/author-visit-leslie-davidson/
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