The latest short film that RadioWest made of how my family and I deal with my dementia. This one is about planning my assisted death with my family. “When the time is right, Gerda Saunders is going to take her own life. Gerda has a progressive form of dementia and we’ve been following her during […]
In 2010, Gerda Saunders learned that she has dementia. She was 61 years old at the time, and a professor at the University of Utah who was already recognizing symptoms in herself. This short film is the first in a series of portraits about Gerda and the family and friends that surround her with love.
Yesterday afternoon I got a note from videographer Josh Weathers that the latest short film VideoWest is making of me is out. It’s called: Downhill from there. Peter and I watched it right away, and it was not very uplifting. I am still glad VideoWest made it, because it is very important to me to […]
My first visit to Las Vegas took place two years after we immigrated to the US, in the summer of 1986. Marissa was 9, Newton 6. Our family was en route to our first American vacation, a trip to Disneyland. It was a wonder that had been able to pull this off—even though Peter had […]
It was Saturday morning at 5:55 am. Next to my and Peter’s bed—silhouetted against the bathroom light that we left on so they could see where they were going if they had to pee during the night—stood our three grandchildren: in the middle, curly-top Dante, at 3 the youngest. Holding his hand on each side, […]
Tomorrow I am going to participate in the Salt Lake City Reelabilities Film Festival, a showcase and discussion forum “to bring together the community to promote awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different abilities.” VideoWest, a Utah-based film-making organization led by Doug Fabrizio, will kick off the film […]