What's the difference?
I had great fun at an English book festival this year - Words by the Water in Keswick. Super audience, presentation went well...but only sold one book!
The one in my bag...because the poor old bookseller had ordered piles of the International edition. Don't get me wrong..this green book is a great book if you want to know about the Alzheimer's Society of Hong Kong, or what happens around the world.
But if you've got dementia or someone in your family is affected and you live in the UK, the blue book is the one for you.
The happy ending is that people ordered the blue one, and came back to collect it. The bookseller says it is one of the best sellers of the event, and I can come back and do a talk in his shop in Carlisle later in the year. Hurrah.
The key thing is this. Just knowing about dementia is not enough. You need to know about what the services are near you, wherever you live in the world. There are legal and regulatory differences and policies that might only work in a small geographical area. You've got a difficult condition to deal with, and the system makes it harder. So if you are in the UK, get yourself the UK edition. Your friends in other places will find the International edition helpful, but in the US and Canada there is a special edition for them as well.
So buy the right book, and please continue to tell me what needs fixing for the next editions. And invite me to a book festival near you!
If you would like more information, you can buy my book Dementia, the One Stop Guide or Care Homes: When, Why and How to Choose a Care Home. I am available for consultancy for families or organisations. And if you have any further queries or questions, or suggestions for something you’d like to see me write on, please contact me via the Contact Page
See my new course on Dementia the One Stop Guide on Policy Hub here