In 2010, Gerda Saunders learned that she has dementia. She was 61 years old at the time, and soon had to leave her post teaching at the University of Utah. So, Gerda started writing what she calls her field notes on dementia. She said she wanted to be like an anthropologist documenting a tribe. The result is a memoir. It’s called Memory’s Last Breath, and in it Saunders examines what losing her memory is doing her identity. Tuesday, we're rebroadcasting an interview with Saunders about her book and her life. (Rebroadcast)
Gerda Saunders served as Associate Director for the University of Utah’s Gender Studies Program. She’s the author of a collection of short stories called Blessings on the Sheep Dog [Indie Bookstores|Amazon], and her new memoir is called Memory’s Last Breath: Field Notes on my Dementia [Indie Bookstores|Amazon|Audible].
On Thursday, September 7, at 3 pm, Gerda will give a reading of her memoir at the Tanner Humanities Center on the University of Utah campus. It's part of the Talks at the Tanner series. DETAILS
Watch the latest in our series of short films about Gerda. It's about her fabulous sense of style, and whether all the effort she's putting into her appearance will worth it when she can no longer manage it herself. Watch all the RadioWest films about Gerda here.
