Kansas State University

MANHATTAN — In the book "Dancing with Rose: Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer's," Lauren Kessler wrote about the month she spent as a caregiver at a residential Alzheimer's facility.

"Being human is more than the sum of one's remembered past," said Kessler, director of the nonfiction program and professor in the School of Journalism and Communications at the University of Oregon.

Kessler and Dave Roth, a musician and lobbyist for the Alzheimer's Association, will present the daylong workshop at Kansas State University, Personhood and Dementia, on Thursday, April 24, at the K-State Alumni Center. Hours are 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. Admission is free and no registration is necessary.

The event is sponsored by the Center on Aging in the university's College of Human Ecology.

Roth, a Kansas State University graduate who has performed and taught for more than 25 years throughout the world, will talk about his Broadway Alzheimer's iPod Drive. For information about donating an iPod at the university, contact Dana Hunter at dmarie@k-state.edu.

"Alzheimer's disease is a very close and personal cause to me," Roth said. "My grandmother died from this disease more than 30 years ago and now both my parents suffer from it as well."

Kessler also will have a book-signing event from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, in the Community Room at Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community, 2121 Meadowlark Road, Manhattan, for her books "Dancing with Rose: Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer's" and "Counterclockwise: My Year of Hypnosis, Hormones, Dark Chocolate and Other Adventures in the World of Anti-Aging."

More than 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.