Annie Laurie 
My Dad and Al 

Charlie’s dad has been told that he has Alzheimer’s disease, a kind of dementia. Dad has to explain what this means to help prepare Charlie for what might happen.

To help themselves deal with this, the family think of the Alzheimer’s as an unwanted guest in their home, and they call him Al, short for Alzheimer’s.

Dad’s dementia means that he might say or do strange things, but thinking of Al as a person means the family can blame him rather than Dad. They even laugh at some of the things Al makes Dad do.

The family know that Al won’t go away, and they pull together to support one another as Dad’s condition gets worse. They know that Dad can’t always help what he says or does, but whatever happens, even when he can no longer tell them, he still loves them from the ends of the earth and back.

This is Charlie’s story.

Circa l’autore

Annie took early retirement after teaching in primary schools for thirty years. She now works part-time with people living with dementia, their families, and their carers.
She came runner-up in a short-story writing competition at her first attempt, which gave her the incentive to write more. She has always loved reading, but now finds she is writing just as much as she is reading.
Having worked with people with early-onset dementia, she has found that they have very little available to help them explain their condition to their children. This story will help redress this, as it can provide a way in for parents to share their diagnosis with their children.