What is Take My Hand, and how did it come to be?
Take My Hand is an illustrated book written as a children’s story and invites the reader and listener to recall happy moments that spark joy and share memories. I wrote Take My Hand to give those with memory loss, their caregivers, and other supporters a way to positively communicate in a loving, kind and respectful way, to show there are meaningful ways to connect to someone who has memory loss and may no longer have the ability to communicate to others to feel heard in a positive way.
I wrote this book while caring for my momma, Gayle Maxey Meenach, who was a person living with dementia for a number of years. She passed away in April 2025. I wanted to help ease her mind of frustration and sadness. While walking through the historic district of my neighborhood, Opelika, I came up with the idea for a book about taking a walk with a senior through the 4 seasons as they encounter familiar memories that delight the senses.
I connected with an illustrator that understood my vision and had empathy for people living with dementia, Olivia Baker. She did a beautiful job of bringing my words to life. Our hope in publishing and distributing Take My Hand is to gently guide seniors’ moments of remembrance and happiness.
Before she passed at the age of 92, my momma read the book, and she gave me the greatest compliment. She said, “This book sure brings back a lot of memories.” I am so grateful for the love and inspiration she gave me throughout my life. It is a blessing to bring this story to life to honor her and give back to others as she did.
Who initially inspired you to grapple with dementia?
My family is very close, and our momma was the graceful and loving center that held us together like a big, warm hug. When she began her journey with dementia, part of the light in her turned to sadness and frustration, a transition which was so despairing for those who loved her.
This was not the momma we had known all our lives. Through love, we helped her navigate this journey. It is an experience that has given me such empathy for those who have lost their memory and those, like me and my family, who walked alongside loved ones living with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Telling stories of the past gave my momma her light back, even if it was for a brief time. Remembering gave her happy moments in the darkness and blankness that memory loss brings. I will treasure those moments always.
How has working on dementia-related art changed you?
Telling stories with familiar settings and experiences is a special and unique way to bring comfort, smiles, and laughter to others. In those moments that can be remembered, it’s rewarding to be a part of helping to make someone feel good. I enjoy supporting and lifting others up positively, and it is my hope to continue writing stories that allow a glimmer of happiness and joy in memories of the past, present, and future.
How has Take My Hand been received?
I have received so many lovely responses to Take My Hand. People are inspired by the message and the beauty of the book.
One of the more loving responses comes from Olivia, the illustrator. Her grandfather, Donald Grinenko, had lived with Alzheimer’s disease and recently passed. Her grandmother was his caretaker. Olivia and her family took a trip with her grandmother to their old home and shared a special moment sitting on her grandparents’ porch, reading the book together for the first time. It was the perfect, serendipitous way to read the book in that place, at that time, surrounded by love, celebrating the best moments of their lives together.
Many others have responded similarly as the story connects them to special moments in their own lives.
This work is dedicated to: My momma, Gayle Maxey Meenach, who passed away in April 2025, after living with dementia. She was an amazing woman, a loving wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was beloved by all and a gifted teacher, an extraordinary pianist with a passion for music, graceful, giving, and kind to all those who knew her.
Find more information about Kathy Meenach and Take My Hand, email her at booktakemyhand@gmail.com. Or, if you’re local to Alabama, catch Kathy and Take My Hand in person at the Spring Market at The Farm at Rocky Top in Salem, AL, May 16 and 17.
