ROMANS ROAD DETOUR - By Todie West
About the Book
Pastime Publications presents a riveting Christian fiction novel, Romans Road Detour. Hopefully this is the first of many great books to come for breakout author, Todie West.
Teaching a classroom full of rowdy sixth graders is not Michael Webster's dream job for his first assignment, but it is a start. When his mother dies, strange things begin to occur in his classroom. Everything eventually spirals out of control and tests him to his core. Michael is held together by his two best friends and the prayers of a group of relentless church ladies. In an odd twist, America's great Christian heritage is revealed to Michael for the first time, and he is compelled to do something with what he had learned. His story is also mixed with local politics and, of course, a bit of romance.
Book Review: "The author of Roman's Road Detour takes the reader on a journey of faith discovery. Much like the roads taken in life, things happen during the process. It's during those times we find out what we are made of. Don't miss it." (Erina Bridget Ring, author of Knit 2, Purl 2, Kill 2, Breakfast with the FBI, Diapers, Drama and Deceit, Writing Ain't for Sissies, and The Neighborhood.)
MY DISAPPEARING ACT: INTO THE ABYSS OF DEMENTIA - by Todie W
About the Book
Many books have chronicled the lives of Alzheimer's patients. My Disappearing Act,: Into the Abyss of Dementia, however, is a work of fiction and asks the compelling question, "How does one really know for sure what goes on in the mind of an Alzheimer's patient?" Written in first person, present tense, the book goes into Patsy's mind and follows her through the many stages of this dreaded disease.
Patsy must face the reality that her lapses in memory have gone beyond losing her keys or forgetting where she parked her car. Due to her husband's ailing health, Patsy's son is given full power of attorney and she moves in with him, his wife, and two teenage daughters. The chaotic family dynamics compound Patsy's confusion, and eventually she is forced into the last chapter of her life at Drake Valley Memory Care Center.
The center brings much needed routine into Patsy's life. The patients are all at different stages of the disease, all with varying colorful personalities. Few of them receive visitors. Patsy is convinced the reason her family has abandoned her is that she cannot communicate with them and that they consider her dead already. However, everyone around her is oblivious to the fact that, even though she cannot carry on a coherent conversation, she understands everything she sees and hears. Her only problem is that her brain short circuits and her mouth and the rest of her body miss the cues of what it wants her to do or say.
The goal of the author is to encourage anybody with a loved one who suffers from Alzheimer's or dementia to not abandon them. Who's to say that a touch or the sound of a soft spoken expression of love does not reach the heart of the one who seems so far away? Love them while they are still with you, even though it seems they are already gone, because no one really knows for sure.