Susan H. McFadden

I'm a retired Psychology Professor (University of Wisconsin Oshkosh). I've worked with people who have progressive memory loss (AKA dementia) for many years, primarily trying to understand their connectedness to other persons and their ability to express themselves creatively even when their ability to communicate with words is affected. In 2012, I co-founded Fox Valley Memory Project, a nonprofit in northeast Wisconsin that aims to create a dementia-friendly and inclusive community. We started the first memory cafes in Wisconsin. I have consulted with people throughout the US and beyond about the programs we've developed here. Since the pandemic began, we have pivoted to online offerings and have increased our outreach using old-fashioned methods like the mail. telephone calls, and personally delivering small gift bags to people.

In 2011, my husband, John, and I published Aging Together: Dementia, Friendship, and Flourishing Communities (Johns Hopkins University Press). Because so much of the literature on the social relationships of people living with dementia focuses on family members or on paid care providers, we wanted to highlight the importance of friendship. With 78 million baby boomers moving into old age, it seems obvious that nearly all will have at least one friend diagnosed with dementia of some kind. With no cure in sight, John and I think we all must learn new ways to stay connected in meaningful ways with one another, even as some of us (it could be me, it could be John, it could be any of our dear friends) journey into dementia.

My new book, Dementia-Friendly Communities: Why We Need Them and How We Can Create Them, appeared in November, 2020. I handed in the manuscript in October, 2019, before any of us knew the challenges 2020 would present worldwide. I've been blogging about how the pandemic has affected people living with dementia (including their care partners) and the ways Fox Valley Memory Project and other organizations have been responding.