In his new Young Adult (YA) novel, “No Sad Songs,” author Frank Morelli explores youth caregiving through the character Gabe LoScuda, an eighteen-year-old thrust into the role of caregiver for his grandfather when tragedy strikes the family. Frank tells us how watching his parents care for his own grandfather influenced the novel.
In his new Young Adult (YA) novel, “No Sad Songs,” author Frank Morelli explores youth caregiving through the character Gabe LoScuda, an eighteen-year-old thrust into the role of caregiver for his grandfather when tragedy strikes the family. Gabe’s grandfather is a World War II veteran who has Pick’s disease, a form of dementia similar to Alzheimer’s. On the show, Frank tells us how watching his parents care for his own grandfather influenced the novel and about the deep impression left on him as a teenager witnessing the effects of his grandfather’s dementia. He talks about the humor, poetry and baseball woven into the novel, and about its big theme of repaying a debt. When he’s not writing Frank teaches eighth graders in Greensboro, North Carolina; although his goal with “No Sad Songs” was to connect with students everywhere on the issue of caregiving, he was especially pleased when one of his students arrived in class not with Frank’s book but with a book of Robert Frost poems.
Frank’s website: https://frankmorelliwrites.com
Connect with Frank on Twitter: @frankmoewriter
Connect on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2JkcaPM
Resources for youth caregivers: http://aacy.org
More about Pick’s disease: https://bit.ly/2JygWwg
Music: “Arashi” by Kakurenbo | CC BY NC | Free Music Archive