Interview with Author Tamara Fickas: Lewy Body Dementia and Loss of Parent

Tamara Fickas

Tamara Fickas is a contributor to the new nonfiction release “God’s Provision in Tough Times.”  She is the administrator of the Rocky Mountain Writer website. She writes historical and contemporary fiction and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.

Tamara, welcome to Overcoming With God.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Would you tell us about the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help? (transparency appreciated!)

Thank you for having me here on Overcoming with God. One of the most difficult things I’ve gone through is walking with my mother through Lewy Body Dementia (LBD.) Lewy is the second leading form of dementia after Alzheimer’s. It causes cognitive dysfunction, hallucinations, and Parkinson’s type symptoms.

Dad was committed to doing as much as possible for Mom, and we kids jumped in to help as much as we could. During the last ten months of Mom’s life, I was unemployed and through God’s strength, I was able to be there for Mom and Dad. 

I look back on that time with awe that in one of the hardest times of my life I could see God walking every step of the way with me. It was this time that I wrote about for my contribution to the book God’s Provision in Tough Times.

(CFP: Tammy, one of my best friends lost her father to this disorder several years ago.  I understand that is is very difficult to deal with.  What a blessing you were to your mother.)

What is your favorite bible verse and why?

Jeremiah 29:11 has always been a favorite of mine. It is comforting to know that even when life seems convoluted and messed up God knows the plan for me. I am not just wandering around lost. I can’t see what is up ahead, but God can.

What has been the most important thing you hope your readers will get from your blogs and why?

I started my Rocky Mountain Writer blog years ago when Mom was still alive. It began as a way to get the word out about LBD as well as polish my writing skills. Over the years, the blog has evolved to be more of an opportunity to share the wonder I find in everyday life.

My personal blog has been inactive for a while now as I consider what direction God wants me to take with it. Even though I’m not sure of the direction the blog is going, it is always my hope that people who read my work see how God is at work around us and are encouraged by that fact.

As you researched your manuscripts, did you learn anything that particularly touched your heart?

I am still in the process of researching my historical fiction novel, but as I read I am amazed at how hard life was for those people who came over to the new world. They could have stayed in comfort in what they knew, but they chose to come to America and tough it out to build this new nation. Makes me thankful for how easy life can be for me.

(CFP: Tammy has written an American Revolutionary War manuscript--a time of history near and dear to my own heart!)

In your work, do you share about LBD?  

My latest work doesn’t really have topics, but some of the early posts on my blog dealt with LBD and how our family coped with this disease that affects not only the person who is suffering from it, but all those around them.

Thank you Tamara for agreeing to answer these questions.  Have a blessed day and keep on writing!!

Giveaway:  A paperback or Kindle copy (outside of USA ebook only) of God's Provision in Tough Times.  Leave a comment and your email address.