Carer's Grief: The Role of Grief in Terminal Sickness

Wednesday, 14 September 2022 - 6:00pm to 6:30pm
On the left is an image of a male and female wrapped in each others arms, outdoors near the beach, this is a picture of Tom and his wife Marie just after she had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. The picture on the right is of Tom holding a copy of one of the books he wrote after Marie passed away.

Today on Brainwaves, host, Flic Manning dives into the important subject of Grief, with her guest Tom Valenta. Journalist, Author of 12-books and advocate, Tom Valenta OAM, lost his wife Marie to Alzheimer’s in 2009, and has two grandsons living with the life-threatening genetic condition, Cystic Fibrosis. His book "Remember Me, Mrs V?" is Tom's heart-wrenching account of Marie's decline through Alzheimer's and can serve as an aid for carers of loved ones facing similar journies.

Tom has also written about how the people of Bairnsdale in Victoria came together, and with the help of the entire Gippsland community,  built an alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre — the subject of his fourth book on substance dependency titled ‘A Time of Hope.’

Today on our podcast Brainwaves, Tom talks about his lived experience of grief and grieving, as well as topics of his latest book on alcohol and drug dependency.

Tune in at 5pm (AEST) on 3CR Community Radio!

 

Image 1: Portrait of Tom and Marie Valenta seated on rocks by the ocean, published in Time Magazine circa 2004

Image 2: Portrait of Tom Valenta holding his new book ‘A Time of Hope’ with a leafy wall of vines in the background.

 

You can find many of Tom's written works at: https://www.bookdepository.com/author/Tom-Valenta

 

You can reach out to host, Flic Manning on Instagram: @flicmanning

Wednesday 5:00pm to 5:30pm
Challenging the mainstream, negative stereotypes of people with a mental illness ths program actively engages those living with a mental illness as researchers, interviewers, performers and program designers while promoting community mental health awareness.

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Members of Wellways Australia

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