Hot off the presses, just in time for Christmas, is Chemainus author Robyn Gerland’s book ‘Caught In The Current’ that’s been five years in the making.
It deals with dementia that’s “so topical right now,” she said. “Everybody’s talking about it. Everybody knows somebody.”
Statistics from closely-connected organizations such as the Alzheimer Society of BC reveal projections of an alarming rise in incidences of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia within the next decade.
The book, in fact, is dedicated to Merle Grey, a friend of Gerland’s who was lost much too early.
“Many years ago, I lost one of my best friends to early onset dementia,” Gerland pointed out. “It took me some time to understand the horror of how she had died and still more to write my goodbye.”
In the process of writing this book, she wound up going in a completely different direction than originally intended.
“It started out to be a novel about the gold rush in the interior of B.C.,” Gerland said. “As I was writing, it evolved itself into a story about a girl and her grandmother who are very connected.”
The grandmother Besse deBruyn eventually succumbs to dementia. The unique thing about the story is how it’s presented from the opposite perspectives of deBruyn and granddaughter Cat and how they both deal with it.
“I think just about anybody with any empathy can understand how you’d be feeling if you knew what was happening to you,” suggested Gerland. “When I was writing it, I was getting goosebumps.
“I’m really pleased with this book. I just hope I can really get it out.”
It’s nearly 500 pages, but large type makes it easier to read. From the short time it’s been on the shelf, those who’ve read it are giving the book rave reviews.
“With her insightful writing, Robyn Gerland takes us through one family’s multigenerational journey with dementia. A most enjoyable and thought-provoking piece of literature,” writes Dr. Paul Manhas.
A hospice worker commented, but had to remain anonymous due to her profession.
“Dementia is a terrifying disease about which much has been written and a journey which I have taken many times with clients and their families. This, though, is the first time that I have read an account of the disease from both sides of the coin: the afflicted and those left behind.
“Robyn Gerland’s account of Besse and Cat has captured the essence of the disease in an honest and beautifully written manner and may well become one of the most lasting novels ever written on the subject.”
Besse, the first character introduced in the book, is the daughter of one of the prospectors in the original piece Gerland had been writing.
“There’s bits and pieces of what I had written in the other one,” Gerland explained.
It all comes together to tell a compelling tale of how generations of a family come to grips with the sad reality of dementia and the affects on everyone’s lives.
The book was just printed less than three weeks ago and will soon be available in libraries across Canada.
It sells for $23.95, but Gerland pointed out people interested in the book can save the tax by sending an email to bythebeach@shaw.ca to purchase it directly from her.
Previous works by Gerland include: All These Long Years Later; Hand-Me-Downs; and Change - The Face Of Time.
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She’s also done numerous short stories for the famous Chicken Soup For the Soul series and intends to do more in the future.
In the course of her five-year odyssey with ‘Caught In The Current,’ “I’ve written two other books in the meantime,” Gerland indicated. “They’re not published yet.”
Writing has been a cornerstone of Gerland’s life since she won a Canadian contest at the age of 13.
“I start writing then and it just keeps coming,” she confided.