Hey! So Glad You're Here.

Hi – I’m Julia, and welcome to my blog!  I have had many wonderfully exciting adventures in my life.  I have worked in the bereavement field for 36 years, and currently serve as the Executive Director at Cornerstone of Hope Bereavement Center, where we serve hundreds of clients each week that have lost a loved one to suicide, homicide, accidental overdose, and various other things.  We are a standard bearer in the field, and train other agencies, churches and non-profits to do the same.  I have spoken at over 600 professional workshops in the last decade.  I also teach at CWRU’s Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, one of the top ten social work schools in the country.  I teach classes on grief and loss, adoption, and group facilitation. Having been born and raised in Ohio, I am a foster/adoptive parent, who has adopted a daughter from China and a son from Madagascar.  I have had the privilege of traveling internationally around 17 times, throughout Asia and Africa doing mission work.  I serve locally with two non-profit agencies serving the poor and powerless in Africa, and refugees who settle in Cleveland.

 

My current, and I would say most difficult adventure to date, is my foray into the world of Alzheimer’s disease.  Some days I feel like a competent caregiver; most days I feel I’ve failed miserably.  This is really hard stuff.  At time I’ve felt as if it’s harder than sitting with a dad who just lost his teen to suicide; Harder than spending two weeks in a hut in Africa.  Harder than fostering a youth ready to age out of the system. This is personal, and it’s just hard.

 

I didn’t write this blog because I have any answers.  Quite the opposite.  I am writing to show the realities of caring for a loved one with this difficult disease.  I am being real about my struggles, and hopefully bringing a sense of humor in the process.

 

If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia, my heart goes out to you.  I would love to hear from you – there is strength in shared vulnerability.

 

Thank you for joining me on my adventure.  This is one of the hardest ones in my life, but also one of the most rewarding.