In 1994, Ann Campanella began to realize that her mother was behaving strangely.  Over the next few years, Alzheimer’s disease rapidly took over her mother’s mind.  At present, her mother is in the last stages of the illness and requires full-time nursing care.  Throughout this period, Ann kept a journal, wrote poems and began to write fiction.  She now believes that “writing has the power to transform grief and pain into acceptance, peace and even joy, and that it can bring us into a state of awareness and gratitude where every aspect of life is precious.”

Before turning to freelance writing, Ann Campanella pursued a career in publishing.  She served as Managing Editor or Executive Editor of two different newspapers in Texas.  She has also been an editor at such diverse publications as Cashflow Magazine, Better Nutrition, and Today’s Living (all in Atlanta, Georgia), as well as contributing editor for Horseman Magazine, and Pension World.  She now writes poetry, creative nonfiction and fiction.

She received the Poet Laureate Award from the North Carolina Poetry Society for “The Chase,” a poem about her mother’s Alzheimer’s.  A group of her poems on the same topic was selected for the Blumenthal Readers & Writers Series by the North Carolina Writers’ Network and the Charlotte Writers’ Club.  Her writing has appeared in various magazines, journals and anthologies.  Her poetry collection, Outrunning the Rain, will be available in January 2006.  She lives on a horse farm in Huntersville, North Carolina, with her husband, three-year-old daughter, and animals.

At the next Catawba College Community Forum, Ms. Campanella will read selections from her poetry, memoir and fiction.  Come meet Ms. Campanella and learn how her remarkable experience with writing about Alzheimer’s led her to a new understanding of life.  The Forum is pleased to present Ms. Ann Campanella at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 15, 2005 in Tom Smith Auditorium in Ralph W. Ketner Hall on the campus of Catawba College in Salisbury.  The public is invited to attend this free event.

In 1994, Ann Campanella began to realize that her mother was behaving strangely.  Over the next few years, Alzheimer’s disease rapidly took over her mother’s mind.  At present, her mother is in the last stages of the illness and requires full-time nursing care.  Throughout this period, Ann kept a journal, wrote poems and began to write fiction.  She now believes that “writing has the power to transform grief and pain into acceptance, peace and even joy, and that it can bring us into a state of awareness and gratitude where every aspect of life is precious.”

Before turning to freelance writing, Ann Campanella pursued a career in publishing.  She served as Managing Editor or Executive Editor of two different newspapers in Texas.  She has also been an editor at such diverse publications as Cashflow Magazine, Better Nutrition, and Today’s Living (all in Atlanta, Georgia), as well as contributing editor for Horseman Magazine, and Pension World.  She now writes poetry, creative nonfiction and fiction.

She received the Poet Laureate Award from the North Carolina Poetry Society for “The Chase,” a poem about her mother’s Alzheimer’s.  A group of her poems on the same topic was selected for the Blumenthal Readers & Writers Series by the North Carolina Writers’ Network and the Charlotte Writers’ Club.  Her writing has appeared in various magazines, journals and anthologies.  Her poetry collection, Outrunning the Rain, will be available in January 2006.  She lives on a horse farm in Huntersville, North Carolina, with her husband, three-year-old daughter, and animals.

At the next Catawba College Community Forum, Ms. Campanella will read selections from her poetry, memoir and fiction.  Come meet Ms. Campanella and learn how her remarkable experience with writing about Alzheimer’s led her to a new understanding of life.  The Forum is pleased to present Ms. Ann Campanella at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 15, 2005 in Tom Smith Auditorium in Ralph W. Ketner Hall on the campus of Catawba College in Salisbury.  The public is invited to attend this free event.