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| 8/27/2008 | Email this article • Print this article | Grandfather's Story Cloth Sheds Light on Mental Illness
By Amy Doeun
In their recent book Grandfather's Story Cloth, Linda Gerdner and Sarah Langford hope to educate and encourage the Hmong community about Alzheimer's Disease. Linda Gerdner is a registered nurse whose passion is helping people overcome the negative effects of Alzheimer's disease. While there is no cure for Alzheimer's, a form of dementia, understanding and support of family members is key to making life comfortable for the victims of this disease. Dementia is defined as "a decline in intellectual and social abilities."
In the book Chersheng's grandfather has begun to forget things. The family is concerned but trying to be supportive. The book traces the reactions of 10 year old Chersheng, his mother and father and 3 year old brother Tou. The family has been trying to adjust to the new grandfather.
In the beginning of the book Chersheng arrives home from school anxious to share his art project with his grandfather, only to discover the back door open. Chersheng is afraid his grandfather has wandered away, though Chersheng's father has installed a large fence in the backyard and special lock to keep his grandfather safe.
Chersheng has special memories of his grandfather and wishes his old grandfather would return. At times his grandfather forgets he is in America and remembers being a young boy. He even mistakes Chersheng for his brother Fong. Gerdner explains that often times "long term memory remains surprisingly intact even though short term memory is severely impaired." That is why things that happened in Laos felt more real to grandfather then life in America.
Chersheng is very hurt that grandfather does not remember him. To help Mother tries to explain that the family needs to support and understand what is going on with grandfather and be patient with him even though he is never going to get better and will only become more confused.
Mother explained about story cloths and showed Chersheng the one that grandfather had made while in Thailand. Using this tool grandfather was able to remember life in Laos and Thailand and share with Chersheng stories from the past. Chersheng suggests making a cloth about America so grandfather would remember. However grandfather says that he "has left his sewing days behind."
To help his grandfather Chersheng makes his own "memory collage" to help grandfather remember America. Grandfather says, "I will always keep Laos safe in my heart. But my true home is with my family, with you and you are all here. As long as you are safe, I am happy."
Gerdner has written extensively about Alzheimer's and other diseases in professional journals. However, this is her first children's book. She recalls that the hardest part is writing about diseases in a way that makes sense to the people affected by them. She has traveled to three Hmong villages in the province of Xieng Khouang and says, "The bonds of friendship established with members of the Hmong community have enriched her life and expanded her world."
Co-author Sarah Langford is a nursing student at Johns Hopkins University. She is concerned about the health care needs of new immigrants and has a deep love of children's books. This project gave her the, "opportunity to combine her talent in this area with her nursing focus."
Illustrator Stuart Loughridge in a native of St. Paul. This is his first children's book. The book is currently available from Shen's Books (www.shens.com) and local bookstores.
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St. Paul, MN
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