Liverpool based author Kate Chesters has launched a range of short story and puzzle books designed to be enjoyed by people living with Dementia.
After her father was diagnosed with Dementia 3 years ago, Kate struggled tried to find reading material that was suitable for adults living with Dementia. Realising that there was limited options available, and not wanting to give her father a children’s book because it felt degrading, Kate began to write and publish her own books.
Kate says: “For people with Dementia, ‘normal’ books are too complicated and frustrating. The text is too small, the amount of characters and plot lines are too intricate, and the length of books can be overwhelming. The joy of reading is taken away from them because the experience is too stressful. This is why I wanted to create a series of easy-to-read short story and puzzle books specifically designed for Dementia patients, making the activity of reading more accessible for them.”
Dementia is an umbrella term for a group of symptoms caused by damage to the brain. It is a brain disease which progressively worsens over time, impacting memory, communication and thinking skills. At the time of writing, more than 55 million people worldwide have Dementia according to the World Health Organisation, with 10 million new cases being diagnosed each year.
Each of Kate’s books feature a large 18x point Arial font, to help people with poor eyesight or vision issues. As there is no mention of any potentially upsetting words anywhere in the content or on the cover (e.g. Dementia, Alzheimer’s, memory loss etc.) these books seem like ‘normal’ adult books. This was an important attention to detail for Kate, as the purpose of the books is to build the confidence of the reader and help make them feel successful.
After working as an abstract resin artist for the past 7 years, Kate has moved her career in this new direction to focus on bringing the joy of reading back to people living with Dementia. Kate lives in Liverpool and is currently working on her next short story book.
Kate’s range of short story and word search books are available to purchase from Amazon
