Hugging Grandma: Loving those with memory disorders.

What happens when your very own grandma doesn’t know it’s your birthday? When a little girl’s beloved grandmother develops Alzheimer’s disease and can’t remember things, how does life go on? Hugging Grandma provides a positive example of how one child copes with a grandmother who has Alzheimer’s. Strengthened by the wonderful times they shared together, the child finds ways to help her grandmother still feel useful and needed. Dealing with a loved one with Alzheimer’s is hard on adults. It is even more difficult for children. Hugging Grandma is a lovely and comforting story that acknowledges what the child has lost while teaching positive ways to cope with the new situation.

The seeds for Zina Kramer’s life-long commitment to public service were planted in the wake of World War II, where she was born to two Holocaust survivors.
Fleeing several European countries, she came to the United States with her parents at the age of two. She has always had a deep appreciation for her freedom and a determination to help others.

Having grown up without grandparents, Zina observed the special relationship that her parents and children shared. She learned how to be a grandma from watching her own parents with their grandchildren. Unfortunately, she also witnessed how devastating Alzheimer’s can be to children. After six years of caring for her mother, an Alzheimer’s patient, and having a mother-in-law with dementia, Zina wrote Hugging Grandma. She hopes this book provides some comfort for the great number of children affected by a loved one with a memory disorder.

Zina is a marketing executive whose emphasis is public service. She loves politics and has a special fondness for Election Day and what it represents. She lives in Michigan with her husband Michael and their dog Lexi. They have a wonderful family including David, Anessa, and Lisa, and two very adored grandchildren, Sam and Max.