His Alzheimer’s and the global pandemic were the darkest days of my life, yet I found purpose, passion, and peace. You don’t need to wait for a life-altering moment to change your mindset and reclaim your purpose. None of us are obligated or expected to be the person we were five years ago, a year ago, or even a month ago, so stop blaming the past, making excuses, and holding on to grudges and regret. Forgive yourself and then and start living the life you’ve always wanted. Right now.

Mark is gearing up for the launch of his first book, Ten Days with Dad: Finding purpose, passion, and peace during the darkest days of Alzheimer's. The book launches March 13, 2022. You can visit https://markjresnick.com/book/ to join his launch team and learn more about the book.

Xaverian had the chance to connect with Mark about what led him to write a book, who inspires him, and what he learned about himself through the writing process:

 

 

MR: My Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014. Seven years later, he died from it. It was a difficult journey for my family, beginning in 2019, when my Dad moved in with my family and me for ten days prior to his full-time move into Assisted Living. It was after those ten days that I began writing about his Alzheimer’s and our relationship. At first, I wrote simply as a way to deal with my pain and suffering, but as the pages continued to increase, I had the desire to share our story to a greater audience. It’s been a lifelong dream to publish a book and write for a living, which I plan to do in the future.

 

 

MR: From the first page to the published book, the process took two years. The actual writing took about twenty months, with several rewrites and editing stages. The book has gone on to an editor and will be done by the end of this month.

 

MR: During my Dad’s first ten months of assisted living, I shared more than two hundred meals with him. I was getting to know him better than at any point in my life, including the twenty two years we lived together in Norwell, and the thirteen years we worked together as business partners. It was one of the blessings that  came out of his illness, though I only wish it hadn’t taken a tragedy for me to grow so close to him. I realized how similar our stories were, but more importantly, his Alzheimer’s diagnosis and seven-year battle changed my overall life-mindset. Despite all the pain, I’m actually happier and healthier than before. I feel like I have truly found my purpose, reignited my passions, and found inner peace – something that was missing in my life.

 

 

MR: First, I hope they read it! It’s structured in a way that they can read what interests them the most. For example, if they only want to read about what the Alzheimer’s part was like, from a caregiver’s view, they can read Part Two. If they want to know more about finding purpose and peace, they can read Part Three. Either way, I hope they find something in it that inspires them to improve or change something about their life that they’ve been meaning to do but haven’t. The main takeaway from the book is: don’t let a tragedy be the wake-up call for rekindling a relationship, forgiving someone, following your dream, or living a happier life. Start the process of change right now, in small ways, so you don’t look back and wish you had done so sooner, like I did.

 

 

MR: I can’t possibly understate the massive role in which Xaverian played in my life, and specifically with the writing of this book. I dedicate a chapter in the book to my sophomore year, which was both the worst and best year of my life at the time. Nothing was going right until I was awarded the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) scholarship which allowed me to attend its leadership conference in June. HOBY changed my life in a hurry. It inspired me to seek out leadership and service roles my final two years at Xaverian, and into my four years at Fairfield University. It literally changed the trajectory of my life, and I’ll never forget Mr. Dalton [retired English teacher] and the committee for selecting me. Ms. Schofield [retired English teacher/department chair] made me a better writer and prepared me for college, so I will always be grateful to her.

 

 

MR: Writing a book is hard! I think the stat is like 80% of people want to write a book in their life, but less than 1% actually do. I get it. Finding dedicated time to write each day was probably the hardest part of the process. Covid actually helped in this case, as I had more time to write and research. It’s not just the actual writing either. I must have read a dozen books on the subject of writing, even though I consider myself an experienced writer already. There were podcasts, videos, and courses I took to hone the craft and learn as much as I could about self-publishing. Unlike most authors, I found getting the first draft on paper manageable. It was the rewrite once you realize how terrible that first draft is! And then the rewrite to the rewrite!

 

 

MR: The book will be available March 13, 2022, the day I turn 50! People can buy it on Amazon or my website: www.markjresnick.com. Folks are welcome to add their email to my update list so that they can join my book launch team or get notified when the book is out.