A Powerful New Voice in the Movement to Reimagine Life with Alzheimer's
Award-winning Playwright Samuel A. Simon Transforms His Diagnosis into Art, Advocacy, and Hope in His Memoir, Dementia Man
WASHINGTON, DC, VA, UNITED STATES, November 19, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In his profoundly moving memoir DEMENTIA MAN, Samuel A. Simon—a lifelong advocate for justice and social change—faces his most personal challenge yet: life with Alzheimer’s disease. Based on his award-winning one-man play of the same name, DEMENTIA MAN offers an unflinching and deeply human portrait of what it means to choose life and live fully while navigating the gradual loss of memory, independence, and certainty.
After receiving his diagnosis, Simon refused to retreat quietly into the shadows. Instead, he turned to the art of storytelling, his most powerful tool, to make sense of what he calls an “existential journey.” Through vivid recollections, humor, and startling honesty, he invites readers to witness his transformation from advocate to patient to teacher.
“This book is a captivating and thoughtfully written account of the author’s fascinating life, including the years he’s spent living with dementia… He rightfully advocates for a world where those living with brain changes are provided adequate support, and healthcare providers offer resources instead of simply a diagnosis.” —Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA, Founder of Positive Approach to Care®
DEMENTIA MAN transcends the boundaries of personal history and reflection. It challenges the stigma of cognitive decline, exposes flaws in the medical system, and celebrates the creativity, dignity, and humanity that endure after diagnosis.
Both heartbreaking and uplifting, Simon’s account is also a love story of partnership, purpose, and finding meaning amid uncertainty. As he writes with candor about his evolving relationship with his wife, Susan, and their shared resilience, readers are reminded that even in decline, there can be growth.
“Sam Simon is a gift to us all as we seek more space and place for people with memory challenges in our lives.” —Stephen G. Post, PhD, Director, Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care & Bioethics, Stony Brook University School of Medicine
Key Themes from DEMENTIA MAN:
• Living—and thriving—with Alzheimer’s disease
• Challenging stigma and redefining what “quality of life” means
• Love, partnership, and creative expression in the face of loss
• Advocacy for better care and understanding of cognitive illness
• A call to reimagine community, compassion, and connection
Simon’s memoir is not just about memory—it’s about meaning. Through his words, he extends an invitation: to see dementia not only as an ending, but as an evolution of self and purpose.
“Sam continues to live as a maker of ‘good trouble,’ transforming pain into performance, isolation into dialogue, and despair into art. What a gift.” —Mary Fridley, Founder of The Joy of Dementia (You Gotta Be Kidding!) and Coordinator, Reimagining Dementia: A Creative Coalition for Social Justice
Published by The Actual Dance, LLC, DEMENTIA MAN (Paperback ISBN: 978-1-7379097-3-6 | eBook ISBN: 978-1-7379097-4-3) is available wherever books are sold, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org. For more information and bulk purchases, visit www.DementiaMan.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Samuel A. (Sam) Simon is in what he calls his “fourth age” as a playwright and performer—an era, he says, that found him. A lawyer and original Nader’s Raider, he wrote his first play, The Actual Dance, in 2012 following his wife’s stage-three breast cancer diagnosis. A memoir with the same title, based on the play, followed. A decade later, after receiving his own Alzheimer’s diagnosis, he created Dementia Man, the award-winning one-man play that inspired this memoir. Both plays have been performed hundreds of times, with Simon himself on stage, inspiring audiences nationwide to face illness and loss with courage, humor, and heart.
For media inquiries, speaking engagements, or interviews with Samuel A. Simon, please contact him at [email protected] or (202) 329-1851.
MEDIA CONTACT
Joellen Leavelle
Inked Communications
(703) 705-2072
[email protected]
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