Lauren Dykovitz knew nothing about Alzheimer’s when her mother was diagnosed at the age of 62. Just 25, with a new career and recently engaged, Lauren took a crash course in caregiving which changed her life, and eventually led her to candidly share her story on Facebook. This soon grew into the blog, Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s, which grew into the book, Learning to Weather the Storm: A Story of Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s. Her goal was not only to share her story and the lessons she’s learned but to let others know they are not alone.  In the beginning, she says, she had a difficult time coping with her mom’s disease and felt she had nowhere to turn for advice and support. As a younger caregiver, it was difficult to find anyone who could relate to what she was going through. In many ways, the blog serves as her online journal. She finds it therapeutic to write down her thoughts and feelings as she navigates her way through life with this horrific disease and the aftermath of her mother’s death. The name of the blog says it all: She tells stories of life, love, and Alzheimer’s, and warns that she might make you cry at times, but she promises to make you laugh, as well. And, to always, always, always keep it real.  “I’m not an expert on Alzheimer’s,” she says. “I’m an expert on loving someone who has it.” In this episode we discuss the particular difficulties of being a millenial caregiver, how connecting with other caregivers via social media makes it easier, and why her mother’s forgetting her wasn’t the worst thing that happened. Read Lauren’s AlzAuthors post: https://alzauthors.com/2018/01/24/meet-lauren-dykovitz-author-of-learning-to-weather-the-storm-a-story-of-life-love-and-alzheimers/  Start reading Learning to Weather the Storm: A Story of Life, Love, and Alzheimer's now: https://amzn.to/3aetvbl Note: We are an Amazon Associate and may receive a small commission from book sales. Connect with Lauren Website: https://lifeloveandalzheimers.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lifeloveandalzheimers/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeloveandalzheimers/ Each season our podcast brings you six of our authors sharing their dementia journeys. Please subscribe so you don’t miss a word. If our authors’ stories move you please leave a review. And don’t forget to share our podcast with family and friends in need of knowledge, comfort and support on their own dementia journeys. AlzAuthors is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization totally reliant on donations to do what we do. Your generosity will help cover our many operating costs, which include website hosting and maintenance fees, service charges to keep things running smoothly, and marketing expenses to promote our authors, expand our content, improve our reach, and more. Our ongoing work supports our mission to lift the silence and stigma of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. To sustain our efforts please visit https://alzauthors.com/donate/ .  Thank you for listening.