In lyrical prose, award-winning author and professional caregiver Lynn Scott shares her insights and the love she found in an unlikely place. A Joyful Encounter parallels her experience caring for Marietta, an Alzheimer patient, with that of her own mother, who died twenty years before with dementia. This love story explores the wisdom, wit, and irony that transfers from Scott's patients to her own heart, and allows her to forgive her mother, and more importantly, herself, for their difficult past. Lynn Scott, senior caregiver and former Director of the Children's Program at the Center for Attitudinal Healing in Sausalito, California, has received awards in non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. She seeks to uncover the healing potential in any situation. This wonderful book overflows with Lynn Scott's own brand of gutsy, spontaneous delight. While compassion makes all the rest possible, it is her honesty, flexibility, and verve that distinguishes this book, and allows the reader to share fully in the pleasure of her many insights. -Dr. Dori Appel, psychologist, award winning playwright, and poet, co-author of the hit comedy, Hot Flashes (Samuel French, 2005)