Claire Verney

This is promising news. Early diagnosis is critical for determining proper treatment, especially being able to differentiate between Parkinson's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia (which we suspect might have been Michael's affliction - no proof, of course). https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/news-detail.php

Valuable advice herein: http://www.giftcards.com/gcgf/how-to-help

For every copy of my book sold I will donate a portion of the sales to the Parkisnon Superwalk. Press the "Shop Now" button above, which takes you straight to the publisher, I will donate $5.00 from every hardcover, $3.00 from every softcover and $1.00 from every ebook sale.

Parkinson's Superwalk will be happening soon in communities all across Canada. I am pledging to offer proceeds from every sale of my book from now until the end of September. Stay tuned. Details to come.

Excerpt from the Foreword of "Notes of a Love Song: Day-to-Day with Parkinson's Disease" by Wendy Yeomans M.D. Medical Director of the Palliative Care Programme at Vancouver General Hospital Clinical Instructor in the Department of Palliative Medicine, University of British Columbia: FOREWORD You are about to immerse yourself in one of the most beautifully crafted anthologies written by and for a caregiver.... The book is a gift on many levels.It is the story of one family’s journey, in particular the husband and wife, through his diagnosis of Early Onset Parkinson’s and the years over which it runs its ravaging course. Or so it would seem...

This review appeared in The (Low Down to Hull and Back) News on June 10, 2015, written by Deirdre Jackson: Book Review: Notes of a Love Song by Claire Verney. Available through Friesen Press, Amazon books, iTunes and Chapters-Indigo. Claire Verney’s recently published book, Notes of a Love Song, is about happily-ever-after gone haywire. Verney and husband, Michael Torontow, lived in an idyllic log home in Chelsea. He was a government executive; she homeschooled their four yo...ung children. Then, at 46, Michael was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease. First written as a blog, Love Song takes the reader through the crucibles of Parkinson’s and caregiving. And although the book will be a good companion for folks beset with chronic illness, it is much more than that. Michael’s life-changing disease is part of two rich lives, and, along with medical dramas, the pages of Love Song are filled with family and friends, hockey rinks and soccer fields, and the beauty and often bloody cold weather of the Hills. As Verney forges through the maze of her partner’s disease, she brings an engaging mix of aching tenderness and formidable humour. From heartbreaking descriptions of Michael’s decline, to wry, earthy passages on constipation and menopause, reading Love Song is like having a heart-to-heart with a frank and funny friend. Mostly though, Notes of a Love Song, is what the title suggests: a love story. As Verney affirms in the book’s first pages, this, won’t be a tragic tale but I hope one of grace, humour, and love. This is a book for everyone but it is, perhaps, particularly timely for boomers, still clinging to the romantic rebellion of, rage, rage against the dying of the light. The news is coming home to all of us: happily-ever-after always goes haywire. The courage, faith and unshakeable commitment that lie at the heart of Notes of a Love Song provide an anthem more in tune with the years ahead.