Sometimes being able to remember is harder than forgetting.
In his first novel, Dr. Tarek Nakhla details the struggles of an uncle and a nephew dealing with memory loss, forgetfulness and navigating a relationship that will ultimately come to a harsh end.
The Fallen Leaf is loosely based on Nakhla’s life; the Voorhees resident uses the fictional names Amir and Nasseem as the main characters to protect the identity of a family member who dealt with dementia. Nakhla also uses different names for his children and wife, though the front page cover and illustration was done by his son Daniel.
The story goes that both Amir and Nasseem were born in Egypt and immigrated to the U.S. at different times. Nasseem arrived in 1976 and Amir in 1990. The book goes through the latter’s journey of trying to help an uncle with Alzheimer’s.
“The motivation to write the book came from the fact that it was a real-life experience of someone who was living alone who developed Alzheimer’s, and because of being alone, it was not noticed until it became unsafe for him to be by himself,” Nakhla explained.
Nakhla is a neonatologist who deals with premature babies or newborns with high risks of illness or with complex health conditions. So while he has experience with children, he noted that helping a sick adult relative was something far out of his comfort zone.
“I never had to deal with this before (with work),” he observed. “Adult medicine is far from my experience; seeing them deteriorate like this was heartbreaking,” Nakhla recalled. “I had to figure out how to help them …”
His book also touches some of the traditions of Egyptian Christians, also known as Coptics. He highlighted how Coptic families living in the U.S. adjust while trying to keep their traditions during holidays.
“It was mentioned in the book, since Amir got involved in the care of Nasseem for about three years and during that time, there were Christmas and Easter (celebrations),” the author said.
Another obstacle that Nakhla focuses on in The Falling Leaf are the financial difficulties of caring for someone at a late stage of their life. Nasseem never accumulates wealth during his life, and once he’s no longer able to take care of himself, the responsibility falls to Amir.
Nakhla himself was responsible for helping family members move from New York and relocating them closer to family, something that at times seemed near impossible given his busy work schedule and his own family.
“The challenging part was moving from New York to New Jersey,” he remembered. “(Doctors) wanted them to be transferred directly from a hospital to a nursing home in New York, which was going to be very hard for me to visit.
“It was challenging to find a (place) here in South Jersey with (their financial issues) …”
While the book was difficult to write, Nakhla hopes it can help shed some light on the subject of an illness millions are facing.
The Falling Leaf will be available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and others on March 31. Nakhla’s publisher, Austin Macauley, has copies available on its website, as well as a chapter one preview.
