Book Description

I just finished writing a new book description that should be showing up soon on Amazon.com, so I thought I would post it here.

Book Description:

This is the true story of my dad, a man whose life was stolen away by Alzheimer’s and betrayal.

Before he became sick, Russell Byrnes was intelligent and self-assured, a man of formidable presence who commanded respect. Born out of The Great Depression, he worked his way out of the poverty of his youth and accumulated a considerable estate. He was proud that he was able to provide for his family throughout his life, and secure in the knowledge that he would live comfortably in retirement and still be able to pass on a generous legacy to his heirs after his death. 

But then he developed Alzheimer’s, and the disease left him a feeble man. The illness took away his memories and his mind’s ability to function effectively, and it left him vulnerable. In his weakness, someone he trusted, someone close to him, stepped in and took advantage of him, robbing him of everything he owned.   I knew my dad well, and I know he never imagined that he would lose everything he had worked so hard for throughout his life. He believed he had safeguarded his lifesavings and protected himself, but he was wrong. No matter that he had taken all the right precautions, his sickness left him defenseless. Reduced by his condition, he was effortlessly manipulated, making the thievery all too easy. 

This is also the story of us, his family, and our fight to reclaim that which had been taken from him. Our struggle for justice lasted five years and cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, but in the end we had to walk away with no more than pieces of his life. Worse, day by day, month by month, while all this legal battling was going on, we slowly lost the man we were fighting for, as Alzheimer’s stole away his mind and eventually his body.  

Over the years we discovered many things about ourselves and others. We observed that some people were not who they claimed to be, and others not all they should be.   We learned that a man of God was not as saintly as he professed. Most of us realized how strong our family’s ties ran, while one of us chose to break those bonds and give in to bitterness. But the most important lesson we learned was how others who suffer from Alzheimer’s or any form of dementia can avoid a similar fate and protect their estates for themselves and their loved ones. Much is at stake. It could be a million dollars, a hundred million dollars, or it could be nothing more than an old guitar. It doesn’t matter.  People like my dad are far too easily victimized; whatever their legacy, it is far too valuable to allow it to be whisked away unjustly. My dad’s life was well stolen, but nobody else’s has to be.