Rockwood Teacher Writes Fiction Novel

This Wildwood Middle School teacher and assistant band director at Eureka High School used writing to deal with her grandmother's fight with Alzheimer's.

Denise Dauw, a 1997 graduate of Marquette High School, has turned a difficult loss into the foundation for a new, young adult fiction:  If Music Be The Food Of Love. The story ties her experience of losing her grandmother to late-onset Alzheimer’s disease to music performance, family, romance and medicine. "In the final stages of her illness, talking to my grandmother didn't draw a response," Dauw said in a Rockwood School District announcement. "However, when I sang to her, she opened her eyes, turned to me and tried to speak. It was a special moment because she gave the gift of music to my mother, who in turn gave it to me.” While a Marquette student, Dauw was involved in numerous aspects of the fine arts program; from concert and …

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