There are a multitude of challenges that care partners of People Living with Dementia (PLwD) face, which can leave them tired and depleted. They may not know where to turn for physical and emotional support, let alone spiritual care, which often goes untended.
This self-paced retreat is designed to support the care partner through various retreat exercises and scriptural reflections that create a space for them to engage in their relationship with God. The retreat begins with a discussion of what dementia is and the common challenges that care partners face. Within those challenges, readers will start to explore some of the many invitations God offers in the Valley of Dementia.
If you, as a care partner, have felt isolated from those around you, from society, community, church, and even family and friends, you are not alone. Therese Fisher offers this gift of spiritual exploration and relationship-building with the Divine to help nourish and sustain care partners and even help you find new life on the journey through the Valley of Dementia.
What people are saying:
“When you are a care partner for a person living with dementia, finding effective spiritual support is often a challenge. Therese Fisher noticed this and thoughtfully created a tool to help meet this need. For those in the Christian faith, this is an excellent resource for care partners, as well as church communities, chaplains, and other faith-based organizations.”
—Teepa Snow, founder, Positive Approach to Care®
“Whether you are a care partner for a family member with dementia or a life-long care partner of dementia patients, ultimate questions of life, its purpose, and its destiny surround you. To find meaning or even to behold God in this work may be a daunting task. Therese Fisher’s outstanding book which seamlessly blends current research, personal experience, and sound theological insights offers a self-guided, self-paced retreat for compassionate care partners that strengthens, supports, and nurtures one’s spirituality amidst this challenging work.“
— Gina Hens-Piazza,
Joseph S. Alemany Professor of Biblical Studies
Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University
Physician Associate, PA-C
“Therese Fisher has brought heaven to earth in this offering. The challenges of being a care partner are often misunderstood, and the options to receive support are few and far between. Bringing her own years of experience as a care partner and understanding of the stresses related to being a carer, Fisher has created a truly usable and easily accessible gift to anyone who seeks respite while walking through the Valley of Dementia.”
—Anne House, volunteer services manager, Providence Community Health Napa Valley
“This is the kind of book I wish I could have offered to many care partners over the years I worked as a hospice chaplain. Therese Fisher is a compassionate, knowledgeable guide through the terrain of the Valley of Dementia and draws on deep wells of lived experience, advanced study, and Christian wisdom to create much needed retreat for those on a similar path. I know this book will be a beloved companion to many.”
—Heather Isaacs, board certified chaplain
“So much helpful insight that not only helps for dementia caregivers, but all end of life caregivers. Thank you Therese Fisher. Amazing.”
—Amazon reviewer
“The author comes straight from her heart with multiple personal experiences and examples. This book has a vast amount of helpful hints and exercises for the dementia care partner; as well as carefully chosen and appropriate biblical quotes.
In setting it up as a self-paced spiritual retreat, the author has given so many useful tools, and as a former parish nurse, engaged in health ministry, I highly recommend it to those who walk in the way of those callings. This is a gift for the soul for anyone who is a ‘care partner’.”
—Virginia fox Wagenseller, former parish nurse