When Waves Rise: Navigating Difficult Moments Associated with Dementia

"This is an excellent book written by an occupational therapist and a speech-language pathologist who have many years of experience working with individuals diagnosed with dementia and their families. The best part about the book is that it gets you, as the caregiver, to reflect upon specific strategies you can start doing and/or do differently to be more at peace, more successful, and have a greater understanding of your interactions with your loved one. This is exactly what makes this book different from other books on the topic of dementia."
- Carol A. Hassebroek, M.A., CCC-SLP
"Delivers hope to everyone touched by impaired brain function and brings powerful tools to both professional and personal care providers at all levels of dementia care. The material provides so much help in a small package that would have eased my personal journey while caring for my wife."- Harvey Hart, MD

When Waves Rise is a must read for care providers taking care of a loved one at home, direct services providers who want to be more effective with patients, and professionals who wish to support the care providers they serve.

Sarah handles a difficult topic with care as she condenses 11 years of experience serving those living with dementia. Her experience has helped care providers, both personal and professional, better understand the “why” behind difficult moments.

The ever-present changes that dementia creates lead to challenges that are not easily understood. When Waves Rise helps to explain these changes and challenges with practical examples that provide technical explanations and takeaways. Care providers can use the tools in this book for day-to-day support and ongoing as the disease progresses.

Readers have stated that When Waves Rise “offers insight on how to react to changes in behavior” and “does excellent job of explaining the progression of dementia and how it is viewed from the dementia sufferer and the caregiver.” Further stating “excellent, practical and useful book filled with picture language to make a complicated subject understandable.”

I have taught both personal and professional care providers how to ease the caregiving experience and improve quality of life for the person living with dementia, as well as for themselves. I learned early on that care for the caregiver equates to better care and quality of life for the person living with dementia. 

I initially wrote this content as a resource for the clients I serve at our clinic in Aberdeen SD. What started as a "how to guide" for my personal clients quickly became a book that would support a greater audience. Readers of the original content stated, "this needs to be a book accessible to everyone" and this gave me the encouragement needed to make it just that! 

I have always related the caregiving experience to "riding waves", as waves build you ride them out with the tools you have, and this helps them calm again. There is never a way of avoiding all difficult moments while caring for a loved one, however there is a way of learning to "ride the waves" with greater ease using tools you learn, while maintaining a grace filled viewpoint through understanding the "why". 

"You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them." - Psalm 89:9

Sarah Viola has been specializing in the care of those living with cognitive impairment, specifically dementia, for over ten years. Her love for those living with cognitive dysfunction began when she was in college and became extraordinarily strong while completing a fieldwork experience at the North Dakota State Hospital in Jamestown, ND. 

She felt a strong pull to serve those she felt had a risk of "losing their voice," limiting their ability to live a life of their choosing as their disability progressed. 

Throughout her career, Sarah has studied many models of dementia care. Through professional implementation, she realized there were specific skills that she was consistently teaching to care providers that helped them create a better quality of life for themselves and those in their care.