Come Sit with Me

When someone you love is living with dementia, the changes can feel confusing, sad, or even scary, especially when you are small.

Come Sit with Me gives young children a gentle place to understand what is happening, and to hear what they need most: it is never their fault, every feeling is allowed, and love lives deeper than remembering.

A kind helper sits beside the child and explains, in plain words, that sometimes a person's brain gets sick. It has nothing to do with anything the child said, did, or wished. The helper shows the child how to be the storyteller, how to say "I remember when you used to make me cookies," and how to be close in the quiet ways that count: sitting near, holding hands, singing a favorite song.

Written by Sheli Monacchio, who became a caregiver for her grandmother at fourteen and has spent 27 years helping families connect with their loved ones living with dementia, and illustrated in soft watercolor by her daughter Melissa Anthony, this is a book for the youngest person in the room, and for the parent reading it aloud.

The closing page carries a short poem for the child to keep, and a link to a song for your person.

All proceeds from this book benefit the Alzheimer's Association, Greater New Jersey Chapter.