The Book

Bedside Witness: Stories of Hope, Healing and Humanity

“When I get out of here, I’m going to hunt you down and chop you up into little pieces!” were the words spoken to Kay Adams by a juvenile offender in the corrections facility where she worked.

Those words became the catalyst for her to wake up to her true calling: being a bedside witness and companion to patients and their caregivers.

In Bedside Witness, Adams shares stories from her twenty-year journey in hospice, geriatric mental health, palliative care, and dementia coaching. Through the intimate lens as a social worker, Kay artfully draws us into these heartfelt tales as if she were sitting with us at our kitchen table, tenderly weaving the laughter, grief, wonder, wisdom, and tragedy of our shared human experience.

For bulk purchases or personally signed books, please contact Kay directly at kay@kaymadams.com.

Invite Kay to your Book Club!

As a special gift to reader of Bedside Witness, Kay would love to visit your book club either via video conferencing or in person in the Denver metro area. Please contact Kay directly at kay@kaymadams.com to schedule her appearance at your next book club meeting.

About the Author

Kay Adams, LCSW is a coach, educator, writer, and speaker. She is the founder of Compassion Works, LLC—a company dedicated to providing individualized dementia coaching, workshops, and educational offerings to families, professional care partners, and organizations.

Kay is passionate about supporting people living with dementia, as well as the families, caregivers, and communities entrusted with their care. Kay’s extensive background as a medical social worker in geriatrics, hospice, palliative care, and mental health has given her a unique perspective as a “bedside witness” to the plethora of needs that families contend with when caring for a friend or loved one who is facing a life-threatening illness or dementia.

Kay’s mission is to empower care partners to navigate the wilderness of dementia by providing individualized coaching, education, coping strategies, and programs designed to improve communication, relationship dynamics, and caregiver support and confidence.

Known for bringing authenticity, humor, integrity, and a unique storytelling ability to her work, Kay connects deeply with those she serves and understands that it is a privilege to do so.

Kay and her family reside in Denver, Colorado.

Praise for Bedside Witness

Kay Adams shares her journey as a social worker with care, sensitivity, dignity, and grace. Her beautifully written vignettes are so palpable you literally feel and experience her journey in a way that transports and places you in the room where it happened.

It is said that each time a story is told, it breathes life into the culture. In Bedside Witness, Kay Adams brings out the dignity of her patients and families through their stories. She shows us that humanness transcends aging, dementia, and illness and that our culture is filled with the many colors of life behind the doors and walls of hospice and dementia care.

Bedside Witness should be required reading for anyone in the fields of hospice, geriatrics, mental health, palliative care, and dementia. Through her stories, Kay Adams shows us that being a witness and companion goes far beyond checking off boxes. It requires sitting with, listening to, and understanding those we serve

Having watched my mother slip away from the effects of dementia, Bedside Witness brought comfort, knowing that other families like mine have survived this loss with a sense of humility and heart. Through her stories, Kay illustrates the commonalities we share as human beings, families, and caregivers and draws on those connections with bright colors to inspire us all.

Kay Adams is a storytelling alchemist with an extraordinary gift that teaches and inspires. Her firsthand accounts of persons living with serious illnesses and their loved ones are transformed into powerful testaments of humility and compassion. Kay captures what matters most.

By knowing our patients’ stories, we come close to understanding their pain and their journey. Adams shows us the reward that all of us experience in working with patients like those in Bedside Witness. Adams has written a compelling book that will be a must-read for all of us who work or will work in this field