Featuring licensed educational psychologist and certified grief counselor Christy Byrne Yates

AlzAuthors, a platform for authors whose lives have been impacted by dementia, is celebrating its 10th anniversary and network of some 400 writers with a film festival and giveaway.

Christy Byrne Yates, who published her book Building a Legacy of Love: Thriving in the Sandwich Generation in 2021, is among the writers whose work has been featured.

“I kind of fell in love with the group,” she told the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Resource Center in a recent interview. “(This is) a non-profit trying to amplify the presence of people writing about dementia from personal experience, and that was so meaningful to me.”

The mission of AlzAuthors, as stated on their website is to share “Alzheimer’s and dementia stories to light the way for others.”

“We aspire to lift the silence and stigma that often accompanies Alzheimer’s and dementia, the most important illnesses of our generation, affecting an estimated 55 million people worldwide,” the organization’s vision statement reads.

Yates, a licensed educational psychologist and certified grief counselor, explored what it means to provide care for one’s children and parents simultaneously in her memoir.

Now she is co-host of the AlzAuthor’s podcast, Untangling Alzheimer’s & Dementia, and a member of the board.

“We’re here to really just give exposure to good writing, poetry, all genres,” she said. “…We’ve featured some podcasts.”

And this fall, to celebrate a decade of spotlighting creative work related to Alzheimer’s and other dementias, AlzAuthors is hosting a film festival.

The event will kick off in September with two filmmakers — Mary Crescenzo and Susie Singer Carter, who created Planet A and No Country for Old People, respectively.

In October, Frank Silverstein’s Lousy: Love in the Time of Dementia will air, and in November Kitty Norton’s Wine, Women and Dementia will screen.

C. Nathan Brown’s The Present arrives in December.

Registration information will be available on their website, and there will be live virtual events to meet with the filmmakers and ask questions as well.

The non-profit is also hosting a book giveaway.

Winners will get to select three books related to a dementia topic or genre of their choice.

Yates encourages Care Partners to listen to the podcast or visit the organization’s YouTube page.

“They need to see themselves, and hear themselves and see hope,” she said. “That’s what we’re trying to be is helpful.”