Meeting Laurie Davis

I was born in Portland, Oregon in 1950. My parents raised me and my older sister and brother in a suburb of Portland. My mother was a stay at home Mom and my father worked as Classified Advertising salesman for the Oregonian Newspaper until he retired in 1969 after my mother’s death from throat cancer. Our parents raised us to be curious about the world and people in general, expected us to take school seriously and exposed us to the magic world of reading which bred creativity, the love of nature and all God’s creatures.

Our home was often the setting for our parents’ many friends to visit. Several of their friends were writers – among them Walt Morey who authored Gentle Ben which developed into a television series. John and Ward Hawkins were close friends of my Dad during his very early years in Portland. John was prolific in writing western stories, mostly sold to various magazines. He and his brother Ward moved to California and they both wrote episodes for the Bonanza television series, and John eventually became an executive producer for the show. He was also writer/producer for Little House on the Prairie. Many a Saturday afternoon our very small home was filled with great conversations and ideas.

After graduating from High School, I went to work for the U.S. Forest Service in Portland and subsequently worked for an Insurance Adjusting firm. I married my first husband in 1971 and we moved to San Diego, California for him to pursue his PhD. in Chemistry. I worked for a law firm in San Diego until we moved to Champaign-Urbana Illinois for my husband to pursue further education is his chosen field. We divorced and I married my husband Dave in 1975. His ex-wife remarried and she and her husband moved to Texas with their 2 children. It was a short time before we moved to Texas as well, because we wanted to be close to his kids. Dave and I were married for 43 years and both of us were in the Mobile Home Business. For a couple of years we had our own dealership in Granbury, Texas. David passed away in 2018 after eight years with Alzheimers. I am currently working as Assistant Manager at a 55+ Independent Living Community, where I have resided since 2013.

The inspiration to write was seeded in me at a very early age. When I was 11, I submitted a little vignette to American Girl Magazine and received a $5.00 award. When that check arrived I was on TOP of the world! School, life, marriage, raising children came between me and my dreams of being an accomplished author. In the last few years I’ve written some short stories and now am ready to seriously write and share my life experiences again.

My Husband’s 8-year battle with Alzheimers opened a huge door to me – being his caregiver and advocate has taught me so VERY much about the disease and the daily odious and agonizing battle with not only the horrible ravages your loved one experiences, but also the archaic and horrific obstacles thrown in our path as caregivers.

Laurie and Dave - laurie in Pink Boa!.jp

I finally had to place my husband in a care facility – as most people in this situation, I waited too long to do so. It’s impossible to explain unless you’ve actually lived it, but like so many caregivers, I was in a very fragile emotional and physical state before I finally agreed that placement was the only option or I would not survive. I am driven to share my experiences and offer practical and effective advice and sources of TRUE help and support for those who are trying to navigate the complicated and tortuous web of doctors, neurologists, psychiatrists and placement locations. Navigating the myriad of differing opinions as to what is “RIGHT” for their person and circumstances is daunting to say the least, especially for someone who is on their last nerve, sleep deprived, riddled with guilt and getting all kinds of input from family members as well.

So my beginning blog posts will be reflections on my experiences with caring for Dave during his Alzheimers journey and sharing with you the life lessons I was taught during that experience.

On this website, I have included two short stories that I wrote over the past few years. One of these stories reflects an experience I had with Dave's Alzheimers journey.

I have many notes in a journal and many ideas on scraps of paper which will result in more short stories – I am planning to publish a book of short stories in the near future.

Not all of these stories will be about our Alzheimers journey, however, I encourage you to follow my blog if it gives you greater insight into my stories about Alzheimers and send my website link and blog link to your friends and family who may be in the midst of their Alzheimers journey.

In the meantime, please share your feedback and thoughts on the stories currently on this website!

My best advice to you if you’re a budding writer --please write as much as you can as soon as you can! It’s NEVER too early to get your thoughts & experiences WRITTEN!