The Girl on the Shore

When Gemma gets the job as support worker at The Beacon, a residential unit with a difference, little does she realise how much impact she is to have on the lives of its residents and how they, in turn, will shape her own. The Beacon, set on the Cornish coast, provides a new model of residential care for older people with dementia and life-limiting conditions where they themselves help to run and organise the home as a home. Through engaging with the residents as individuals, Gemma gradually draws out the personal histories of each, giving them the opportunity to work through their often painful pasts while she herself comes to terms with her approaching adulthood. The story shows how both the young and old can play essential roles in a successful caring community that can and should be much more than a place people go to die. The Girl on the Shore should be read by everyone involved with the care of dementia sufferers and the management of their residential units, by the families of people with dementia and people with dementia themselves.