Article from the Sioux City Journal, by Julie Weeder

Debbie Bernstein LaCroix remembers Jewish holidays at her grandmother's house, her grandmother's green and yellow flowered couch and the diamond ring her grandmother gave her for her bat mitzvah.Bernstein LaCroix prefers to remember her grandmother that way -- a grandmother who showered her with love and affection -- and not as the woman who spent the last 10 years of her life with Alzheimer's disease, unable to remember her own children and grandchildren.

Through a children's book she has authored, Bernstein LaCroix, 27, wants to help young children remember the good memories of their grandparents -- the memories they have before the grandparent develops Alzheimer's."This is my heart that I'm putting out there," said Bernstein LaCroix, whose grandmother, Gussie Bernstein was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease when Bernstein LaCroix was 12. Gussie Bernstein died in 1998.

"This book teaches that no matter what happens, the child can still give hugs and kisses to their grandparent! ! s and paint them pictures and show them family albums," she said. "Even if grandma doesn't know who you are at first, she knows you love her."

Bernstein LaCroix, a stay-at-home mom living in Dakota Dunes, said she wrote a first draft of the book, titled "My Grandma Can Do Anything," about a year ago. One night, as she was putting her toddler son, Alex, to bed she realized what a wonderful relationship Alex has with his grandparents."I started thinking, how would I explain to Alex if one of his grandparents got Alzheimer's?" she said. "I wrote the book for Alex, but a year later, I realized it was really for me."

Bernstein LaCroix said writing the book has helped her sort through the memories of her grandmother -- the old memories before she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and the more recent memories after she was diagnosed.Bernstein LaCroix doesn't call the new memories "bad memories." They are just different memories of a woman who changed so much after her diagnosis.

Her intentions weren't to publish the manuscript, but after showing it to her parents, they suggested taking it to the Big Sioux Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association in Sioux City. Tina Stroud, president and CEO of the Big Sioux Chapter, accepted the book idea and agreed to publish it.

Stroud also put Bernstein LaCroix in touch with artist Terry Hecker of California. Hecker, a native of Lawton, Iowa, illustrated the book using photos of Bernstein LaCroix and her grandmother as inspiration.Bernstein LaCroix debuted her book Tuesday.

"My Grandma, she has Alzheimer's! What a big word, what does it mean? It means she's forgetting things but will always still love me," the book says.

The book is ideal for parents to read with their children, Bernstein LaCroix said. The book also contains a journal for children to encourage them to remember good things about their grandparents."Things change, but memories will make grandma live on forever," Bernstein LaCroix said. "It is scary, but there are things you can do that are not so scary."

Books are available for p! ! urchase for $10 at the Alzheimer's Association, 522 Fourth St., Lower Level, or Book People in Marketplace Shopping Centre.