DEBUT NOVEL
Stage Seven
A sweet but uptight single mom falls for an older man at an Alzheimer’s facility where her mother—and his wife—are patients. Barbara Gordon is a self-reliant, divorced mom, brilliant at managing her life with lists and spreadsheets. Lately, though, the demands of a teenage daughter, a manipulative sister, and a mother with worsening Alzheimer’s are more than she can handle. Then Barbara meets Jack, an appealing older man married to a late-stage dementia patient who no longer knows him. Jack and Barbara hold the power to make each other happy…but only if Barbara can break her long cycle of romantic abstinence. Funny, sad, and heartwarming, Stage Seven is about two people caught between love and duty, and the risks we take when we commit our hearts to family, friends, and lovers alike.
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Watch Ruth discuss Stage Seven on the Summer Book Series co-sponsored by AlzAuthors and HFC (Hilarity for Charity), an Alzheimer’s awareness group founded by Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen.
Stage Seven is part of the AlzAuthors collection of books, podcasts, videos, and more. AlzAuthors is an excellent online resource for dementia patients, their family members, and caregivers. It offers a compendium of information including memoirs, caregiver guides, novels, children’s books, and blogs, plus the encouraging real-life experiences behind these works.
PRAISE
“A romance with emotional maturity and true connection, delightful and touching.”
Abbi WaxmanUSA Today best-selling author
“A compassionate and moving novel about the lives we are living now. (Stevens) reveals the ways that Alzheimer’s challenges and changes who we are and how we love.”
Marita GoldenAuthor, The Wide Circumference of Love, an NPR Best Book of 2017
“If you’re looking for humor, love, and the strength of spirit to face heartbreaking realities head on, Stage Seven may just be the elixir.”
Daniel KennerAuthor of Room For Grace
“Stevens’ captivating story of Barbara’s roller coaster of desire, self-doubt, selflessness, envelope-pushing risk-taking, loyalty, and standing in her truth make this book a great read I enjoyed.”
Dan GasbyCo-author with B. Smith, Before I Forget: Love, Hope, Help, and Acceptance in Our Fight Against Alzheimer’s
"Its ability to juxtapose fun with serious inspections and thought-provoking moments makes Stage Seven highly recommended for women and families who are navigating the currents of dementia and romance concurrently, and who look for stories steeped in real-world emotions and interpersonal explorations."
Midwest Book Review
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