That deep sense of loss was something I tried to capture in my story. So much is lost, so much is wasted, when death and dementia burn those shelves to ash and smoke. I wanted readers to value and appreciate their elders while they’re still around, and to go “borrow” the books and seek out their stories from within their minds before it’s too late. And it occurred to me that dementia was like the fire that was actively burning those books and shelves in front of our very eyes. It captures the fact that our elders are like living libraries, filled with stories, experiences, wisdom, and knowledge. This line has served as a North Star for my book, as it gave me a perfect metaphor for what I felt about my dad and dementia. “There’s a quote by a Malian author Amidou Hampate Ba: “when an old person dies, a library burns to the ground” that prefaces my novel. We asked Daryl to share the inception and deep meaning to the book. While the quest was unexpectedly long, winding and bumpy, grandma walked beside Alexis at every step of the way-helping her vanquish the treacherous creatures that came their way. They race against time to find the key ingredients for the Memory Glue to help restore the fractured memories of grandpa. In Mist-Bound: How to Glue Back Grandpa, we follow the adventures of Alexis and grandma as they try to revive grandpa’s memories.

Our elders are like living libraries, filled with stories, experiences, wisdom, and knowledge The Long And Winding Road

Mist Bound by Daryl Kho