Alzheimer’s may rob people of their memories, but “Rizzoli & Isles” author Tess Gerritsen is making sure victims of the disease leave an indelible mark.
Earlier this summer, the best-selling crime writer raffled off the chance for fans to name characters in her 11th “Rizzoli & Isles” whodunit to help raise money for Alzheimer’s research.
“I was glad we had so many people contributing,” said Gerritsen, who lost her father to the disease following a decadelong battle. “I think they responded particularly to the website with sharing stories about Alzheimer’s and their own families. It’s comforting to know that there so many people dealing with the same things.”
Doug Dorow, 52, of Minneapolis and Andrea Pearson, 31, of Lehi, Utah, won the raffle after each made a $100 donation to the Camden, Maine-based author’s War on Alzheimer’s campaign. Each $5 contribution entered them for a chance to win.
Dorow and Pearson, writers themselves, discovered the opportunity through self-publishing guru Joe Konrath’s blog.
Konrath helped spread the word by offering guest posts on his blog for those willing to make a $100 contribution to Gerritsen’s cause.
“Joe and I have been friends for a long time,” Gerritsen said. “Not only did he and his wife donate $2,000, but he put it on his blog. Anyone who blogs on his site gets a lot of eyes. Joe was such an important part to this campaign.”
In total, 382 people donated a total of $25,000. Gerritsen matched the amount, to give Scripps Research Institute $50,000 toward Alzheimer’s research.
Like Gerritsen, both Dorow and Pearson have a personal connection to the disease.
Dorow, a father of two, lost his mother several years ago following her eight-year struggle with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
“She was the one very supportive of me. She taught me how to read. She was very supportive of reading in the household and traveling. In the end, she lost the ability to speak so it was hard to communicate at all,” he said.
Pearson, who writes young adult fantasy, lost her grandfather, a World War II veteran, last year.
“He started repeating stories. He’d tell the same story three or four times,” Pearson said. “He slowly went down. He had a major stroke last year and ended up in a center for Alzheimer’s and dementia and became very violent.”
Though the trio didn’t offer specifics on the characters’ names or back stories, Gerritsen said the novel will split between Detective Jane Rizzoli’s Boston beat and Africa. The book is due out December 2014.
“As our population becomes a more aging population you are hearing more about Alzheimer’s affecting more individuals,” Dorow said. “By supporting Tess, I hope to broaden the understanding of it, and with the research, to hopefully get rid of Alzheimer’s altogether. Some people may have heard of Alzheimer’s, or know someone, but unless you have been with someone with it, you don’t understand how devastating it is.”
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