“Fascinating, tenderly-written, and captures the full devastation of the pandemic.”

Katie Bannon, Writer, Editor, Educator

I’m Not Ready for This

On Thursday, March 12, 2020, my streak of consecutive days visiting my mom, Amy Shimkus, came to a sudden and unexpected end.

Eight years into her Alzheimer’s journey, she lived in a nursing home one mile from my home, in Saratoga Springs, New York, where I worked as the president of the local chamber of commerce. Two days earlier, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and now the virus, the fear of it, and how our government responded disrupted our lives and economy in more ways and for far longer than we could ever have imagined.

It would be 363 days before my mom and I were reunited, and more than two years until New York’s state of emergency was lifted. My sister, Tracy, called what I did during this time to care for my mom and to save my community, a crusade. This may be a slight exaggeration, but what I learned about Alzheimer’s, COVID, being a caretaker, a community leader, and resilience needs to be shared.

4 Ways To Order A Copy of “I’m Not Ready For This…

Purchase online via Northshire Saratoga Bookstore.

Purchase online via Amazon.

Venmo $28 & we will mail you a book signed by Todd.

Make a donation of at least $50 to Amy’s Army & we will mail you a signed book.

Here’s what people are saying about I’m Not Ready For This…

In 2023, the “Amy’s Army” team in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s raised just over $25,000 to end this miserable disease!

“I’m Not Ready for This” is written for caregivers.

“While I provided the clinical symptoms observed in each stage, Todd added poignant and personal comments about HOW these symptoms impact the person with disease and the entire family.  The audience was so grateful for his comments and candor,” Beth Boivin, Alzheimer’s Association of NENY.

“I’m Not Ready for This” makes clear how we must value mental health as much as physical health, and how the prolonged isolation of thousands of New York’s nursing home residents, like my mom, was cruel, unfair, and must never happen again.

In Upstate New York, our local economy was shut down a few times every year by snow or ice storms. But never indefinitely because of a public health emergency. With Saratoga facing this threat, “I’m Not Ready for This” describes how a small group of local leaders – – called the Saratoga Crew – – came together to save the community we loved as we lived our pandemic mantra, “Stronger Together.”

If you find yourself in the role of caregiver, I hope you will benefit the most from reading this memoir. Alzheimer’s is a miserable disease, but I will never use that word to describe the time I spent with my mom after her diagnosis. Creating one positive moment for my mom everyday we were together made both of us happy, and the strategies I employed to stay connected with her helped us to become closer than ever before.

About Todd Shimkus

Todd Shimkus is the President of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, a position he has held since 2010. His career as a chamber executive now spans nearly three decades and he is one of just two active chamber executives in all of New York State to have earned the Certified Chamber Executive (CCE) designation. He has a Master’s Degree in Urban and Environmental Policy from Tuft’s University and a Bachelor’s Degree from Clark University, both in Massachusetts. He lives in Saratoga Springs with his wife, Lisa, and their new puppy, Twinkie. Lisa and Todd have two adult children, Katelynne who lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Benjamin, who lives in Manhattan, NY.

Check out a few of the many interviews with Todd Shimkus

My family wants to thank the heroes at the Wesley Community for the care they provided to our mom, and the Alzheimer’s Association as well for the support and guidance they provided to us.