Launch of A Rose for Grandma: A Journey Through Alzheimer’s by Christiana Egi
On this week’s special episode of the Forever Young Podcast, Cherrie-Marie Chiu had the opportunity to sit down with Christiana Egi to talk about the release of her new book, A Rose for Grandma! If you did not know, Christiana is the owner and operator of Alexis Lodge and has a passion for helping families and individuals as they adjust to the changes that often come with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. A Rose for Grandma is the first part of a children’s book series written as part of an ongoing effort to eradicate the stigma around dementia and mental illness. She has spent 10 years of her 34-year nursing career working in the crisis unit of Canada’s largest psychiatric hospital. Caring for people in her homes is something Christiana does so naturally and it would make everyone feel welcomed and loved. Christiana’s hope is that this book will start conversations around mental illness and hope families will benefit from reading this book. Read on to find out more about what inspired her to write a children’s book series and why mental health awareness is important to her.
Cherrie: As you know I am super excited to get a copy of your amazing book! What is the premise of your book?
Christiana: A Rose for Grandma is about Annie, a young black girl from Toronto. She absolutely adores her grandparents, especially her grandmother! She loves spending time with them and enjoys gardening with her grandparents along with her brother Andy. Grandma is an exceptional baker who even baked her own wedding cake with a beautiful red rose at the top of her wedding cake. When you read the book, you will know why roses are very important to Grandma!
However, Annie starts to notice sudden changes in Grandma. She seemed to be more sad, confused, forgetful, and sometimes grumpy. These strange things started to cause a sense of fear and concern as Annie could not understand why her beloved grandma had started behaving this way. She then finds out her grandma has Alzheimer’s disease.
Cherrie: That is so amazing! I am really excited for everyone to read this book, Christiana! So what made you want to write a book about dementia?
Christiana: Well… it’s a long story! When we started Alexis Lodge, we had a cook named Valentina who was very kind and motherly to me. She always used to tell me [considering everything we were going through] to “write everything down, because one day you are going to write a book about your experiences”. Well, did I do that? No, because I thought I will always remember everything. However, one day after I dropped my daughter off at Waterloo, I was coming back home listening to Joel Osteen’s interview with Tyler Perry. It was so intriguing to hear about Tyler Perry’s journey and the challenges he has faced. Both men were talking about how you can do a lot to impact the world; it doesn’t matter where you are, you can make huge changes. I was so inspired, I had to pull into a plaza to listen to the end of their conversation! This really inspired me to do something. I knew from the very outset I wanted to write a book, I initially intended to write a book for babies with one-liners, but the words just kept flowing! This led to the decision to make three different books about three different families.
Cherrie: So this is the first thing we need to tell people - A Rose for Grandma is just the first book. Can you tell us a little more about what your other books will be about?
Christiana: Yes! I decided to write about three different types of dementia in each book - the three books discuss Alzheimer’s disease, Vascular dementia, and mixed dementia in a setting that is understandable to the middle school reader. A Rose for Grandma is about Annie learning about her grandmother’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Illustrations by Ramneet Kaur for A Rose For Grandma by Christiana Egi.
Cherrie: That’s amazing! So, Christiana, tell me, what made you decide to use people of color as characters for the story?
Christiana: There is a shortage of Black stories being told, particularly in Canada. The ones that are told are usually centered around racially oriented trauma. It has been my desire to highlight the regular, everyday stories and the challenges of our community. I want little children to be able to pick up a book and learn about a disease, as well as the different types of dementia, that their grandparents or friends of grandparents may be going through.
Cherrie: That is very beautiful, Christiana, I love that. Can you share your writing process? What was your biggest challenge when writing this book other than your gigantic manuscript?
Christiana: As I mentioned, when I started out I wanted to write a children’s book that consisted of one-liners. However, as I started writing, the words just kept flowing! I decided to change it to a middle-grade book so it would be more lengthy. The other thing was that I wanted to communicate ideas of dementia in the same manner children speak. My editor Sarah helped me change or break down certain things to a certain level for children to be able to absorb. I have learned a lot while writing this book. The publishing process was a learning curve, but I was able to go through it and I am really happy that I’ve learned enough to be able to guide people now!
“A Rose For Grandma is written very simply, in a way that anybody can understand. It already makes it easy to explain it to a child or even an older person. I think that is also the beauty of the level at which the books are written - ”
Cherrie: You run two retirement homes for people with dementia. Can you please share a little bit about the origin story of your homes?
Photo of Alexis Lodge Retirement Home located in Scarborough, Ontario
Christiana: In 1999, my late husband, Tony and I started Alexis Lodge. Prior to that, I had worked at the Mental Health Center Downtown. I continuously heard sad stories about the living conditions of the patients, and how they will return to the hospital cyclically to get better medication and so forth. I often wondered if they would have been doing much better if they had a good home, where people would actually supervise their patients, assist with medication and understand how to care for someone with mental health challenges.
After having my third child, Alexis, I decided that I could start a home for people with mental health challenges. I jumped at the opportunity and that is how we started a home that is caring, supportive, and will help to alleviate that social stigma from mental health challenges. We also wanted to give people an environment where they will be treated with respect and dignity. So that was what we did, and what I have been doing for the past couple of decades! It is very fulfilling and I have been able to impact lives. Through those years, I have learned a lot of things that have led me to this point of writing these books.
Cherrie: So then what was your biggest win with writing this book? What are you most proud of?
Christiana: I think it feels surreal because from that little dream of telling my daughter I’m going to write this book, to where we are now. Not only did I write one book but I wrote three all around the same time! I wrote this book for children because I wanted people to be able to see this disease through the eyes of a child. Oftentimes there is an oversight where their feelings are concerned and we need to start having open conversations with children.
Cherrie: So now that you’ve got this amazing book about Alzheimer’s, how do you plan on sharing it with the world?
Christiana: This is what I hope this book will do - to touch and impact lives. My biggest hope is that it would be a conversation opener. Dementia has reached global proportions - I think in Ontario alone we have 50,000 people suffering from dementia - yet it is not talked about much. There are so many people that are dealing with this struggle and don’t know where to turn. My hope is that this would be an opportunity for people to actually start having those conversations, and learn how to seek help. Dementia is actually a very lonely disease. When you develop a dementing disease, it can make one isolate themselves, friends may cut them off due to a fear of a “spread” of the disease, which is a myth. Awareness is so important. People need support and know where to turn to get help.
Cherrie: What is your one takeaway about A Rose for Grandma for our readers and listeners?
Christiana: There is so much social stigma out there. We just have to learn to be respectful and mindful of other people. Going through this pandemic, more people have developed mental health challenges and we need to be more understanding of other people’s feelings. Being a good friend, a supportive neighbor or relative is always beneficial to you and others around you! The motto at Alexis Lodge is “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Be good to people and it will reward you in the future!
A Rose For Grandma: A Journey Through Alzheimer’s can be purchased on Amazon and Barnes and Noble now!
Follow Christiana’s journey on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to learn more about her life as a caregiver, author, mother, and grandmother! For any business inquiries please email cegi.arose@gmail.com.
You can watch Christiana’s most recent interview with CTV News here:
Listen to the full episode of the Forever Young podcast below:
The Forever Young podcast is created and produced by Christiana Egi and Cherrie Marie Chiu. Produced and engineered by Elisse Hill. The podcast represents our opinions and those of our guests. The content should not be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. Please consult your health care professional for any medical questions. If you like our show, please tell your friends and leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. New episodes are available every other Wednesday. Have questions? Email us at ourforeveryoungpodcast@gmail.com.
