Tales from My Teachers

Tales from My Teachers on the Alzheimer’s Unit is a collection of narratives set in a nursing home, stories for adults seeking redeeming truth beneath terrible suffering. Social Work Professor Emeritus Howard Goldstein praised it by saying, "This collection should be read and treasured by the caregiver, the next-of-kin, the professional and the educator — anyone who wishes to understand the inner world and mind of the Alzheimer’s patient. Susa Silvermarie, a social worker, poet, and certified poetry therapist, takes us into her “village of elders”; their voices reveal unexpected insights amid confusion, wit and irony amid sadness, and the plea to be regarded and treated with fellow feeling and esteem."

Tales from My Teachers on the Alzheimer’s Unit is a collection of narratives set in a nursing home, stories for adults seeking redeeming truth beneath terrible suffering. Social Work Professor Emeritus Howard Goldstein praised it by saying, "This collection should be read and treasured by the caregiver, the next-of-kin, the professional and the educator — anyone who wishes to understand the inner world and mind of the Alzheimer’s patient. Susa Silvermarie, a social worker, poet, and certified poetry therapist, takes us into her “village of elders”; their voices reveal unexpected insights amid confusion, wit and irony amid sadness, and the plea to be regarded and treated with fellow feeling and esteem."

Susa Silvermarie experiences her writing and storytelling as a deeply spiritual practice. She has a Masters in Social Work and was accredited by the National Association of Poetry Therapy as a Certified Poetry Therapist. While working on an Alzheimer’s Unit, she pioneered an adaptation of the poetry therapy modality for people with dementia. She later earned an MFA in Writing for Children from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her author portfolio is broad and diverse. She writes fiction for young adults, blog essays, and poetry, and is a longtime contributor to the global We’Moon datebook. Widely published and anthologized, Silvermarie is grateful to live her life as an artist in Asheville North Carolina.