On Walden Street: A novel about a community where people find healing and hope while living with dementia

America is aging. The most recent census reveals that 1 in 6 people in the US is over the age of sixty-five. Long life can have many blessings, but it can also present many risks, a concern at any age. One such risk is the loss of mental abilities. Dementia is real, and the challenges it presents are many. It is predicted that dementia in America is on a trajectory to increase exponentially in the coming decades.

On Walden Street is a story about ordinary people who are living in the wake of dementia. Some have been afflicted with a dementing disease, and some are trying to provide care. All are dealing with an uninvited twist in their own life story. But in the midst of the struggle, they find hope.

On Walden Street is a story about our shared need for grace, forgiveness, and redemption as we face the messy circumstances of life. The characters on Walden Street learn the value of community, the comfort found in shared suffering, and the incomparable value of applying a spiritual perspective to all of life's trials.

Review of "On Walden Street"

Writing is like painting with words. The author does a good job helping the reader

to visualize the scenes and understand the characters on Walden Street. On Walden

Street would be helpful to anyone experiencing a family member or friend living

with dementia. The author, like a skilled artist, accurately paints a picture of what

it is like to have and experience the different types of dementia, including how they

may present and how they are best handled. In the development of the characters

the author provides excellent insights from his own experience as an administrator

of a facility for aging people. In addition, On Walden Street emphasizes Christan

principles, especially forgiveness and redemption, and illustrates their impact on

each character.

Phil Thuma, M.D.

Retired Senior Scientist, Johns Hopkins

Bloomberg School of Public Health