Holding On to Happiness

'I understand there may come a day when I read these words and no longer recognise them as my own. But when that day arrives, I hope I still feel something within them. I hope I still recognise the love. Because this is not only a story about what can be taken from us. It is a story about what remains.'

When Jim Rogers was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at just fifty-five, life changed in an instant. For this tight-knit family already shaped by devastating loss, it was another unimaginable blow. But with the support of his husband and children, Jim refused to disappear. Instead, he became one of Australia's most recognisable voices for people living with dementia, and those who love them.

Written with his daughter Millie, in Holding On to Happiness, Jim reflects on a life shaped by heartbreak and extraordinary devotion: losing his adored wife, raising three young children through grief, finding love again, rebuilding a family, and searching for meaning in the face of uncertainty.

Funny, tender and fiercely alive, Jim's story will leave your heart fuller than before. Much more than a memoir about dementia, this is a story about family, memory, identity and resilience. Above all, it is a reminder that when we have the courage to keep our hearts open during life's hardest moments, there is always happiness to be found.