About

My father was my teacher and mentor. Although we only met at the age of 3, when he married my mother, his patience and intentional role as "dad", made it easy for me to connect with him.

He molded an exciting life beyond the boundaries of the ordinary and predictable life in Austria, allowing us to travel around the world with him as he pursued his creative passion for advertising.

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As a curious observer, he was always intrigued as to what made people tick, especially those he hired to work alongside him. To his peers, his life would teach them a passion beyond formal education.

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His pursuit of self-acquired intelligence and knowledge fascinated me, yet at the same time, he did have much time or understanding for the everyday aspects of life – much like his father. That said, connecting with him was mostly possible during spontaneous conversations on a highly cognitive level. These conversations could often turn to curiously enquiring faith, the meaning of life and love. His asset was his mind, being able to connect the dots to create a different perspective of life.

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With the early onset of dementia, he stepped into a hidden world – a world where the cognitive ability drifted to the background leaving space for us to connect on an emotional level. This in turn filled a void from the past for those who were willing to share this last adventure with him.

 

This project is in honor of my father, Eric Fredericks, who taught me by walking alongside him on his journey with Dementia, that one can still live well with this illness, if you shift your perspective and see beyond the obvious.