Kathryn Harrison

As a child, art was my passion but I also enjoyed science. Being from a family of scientists and business professionals, I decided to put art on hold to gain a degree in Biology/Psychology and an MBA. After graduation came a lengthy communications career in marketing and advertising until motherhood eventually drew me to pursue my more artistic calling. In 2007, I was led to art school and then went on to earn a Diploma in Fine Art. Today I see myself as a storyteller, able to blend my diverse skills to not only author compelling stories, but to further enrich them through vivid paintings, design and illustration. “Weeds in Nana’s Garden” marks the culmination of my lifelong pursuits, but it is also the end of a very personal journey. In 2005 my mom was diagnosed with Early Onset Dementia. She was 62 years old. In the years following, my family and I learned firsthand about the heart-ache of the disease. After my mother’s passing in 2010 I knew I had to do something to help – something to increase awareness and provide much needed support to families enduring the hardship that is dementia. I set out to create an engaging children’s picture book that guides the reader through the typical stages of dementia. Wanting to do more still, I decided that a portion of the proceeds from the book would be donated to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, an organization that supported me greatly in my time of need. What’s more, to maximize my contribution I needed to self-publish and thus Flipturn Publishing was created. The name, Flipturn Publishing, is both a nod to my competitive swimming past and an acknowledgement of the need to turn and face a new direction, once dementia arrives. I hope you find this book to be a candid yet approachable exploration into dementia diseases for families, and that you also recognize it as a celebration of the remarkable ways of the human heart. I dedicated the book to my mom, Bonnie Harrison, but it was created to honour all those who are afflicted with dementia and all those who never stop loving as it endures. With heartfelt thanks, Kathryn