Annemarie Deutschmann never considered herself to be an author. In fact, she joked that she was barely a reader.
Yet in her early 50s, after enduring the heartbreaking loss of her mother to dementia, Annemarie’s life took an unexpected turn toward writing, healing and a newfound calling to help others through storytelling and sustainable science.
“I just feel like I was extremely faithful,” Annemarie said. “There were so many people who supported me, and I could feel my mom’s spirit in ways that were undeniably real. That’s when I knew I had to tell our story.”
Her debut book, “Rosie Remembers,” is a soft and heartfelt children’s-style picture book, but it wasn’t written solely for kids.
Inspired by her mother’s journey with dementia and a series of extraordinary signs involving butterflies, the story was crafted to help families find peace and clarity during one of life’s most difficult chapters.
Helping her mother and other families
Annemarie’s journey into elder care began at the YMCA, where she helped create social and wellness programs for older adults in a community where 35% of residents were seniors. Her role expanded rapidly as she grew a Silver Sneakers program from just 25 attendees to more than 350.
Around the same time, Annemarie’s mother, Rose Marie, began experiencing subtle changes. She was often repeating outfits, forgetting her grandchildren’s names and becoming increasingly withdrawn. As someone who had worked closely with aging adults, Annemarie recognized the signs.
“I just started catching that something wasn’t quite right,” she said. “There were those ‘that’s weird’ moments, like forgetting names or confusion about little things.”
After convincing her mother to get tested, doctors diagnosed Rose Marie with dementia. The news was both devastating and clarifying. It helped Annemarie understand what was happening and empowered her to be present and supportive in a new way.
“One of the very last things my mother said to me was, ‘Annie, I don’t want you to tell me what to do. I just want you to hold my hand,’” she recalled. “She wanted me to stay present. That moment stuck with me more than anything.”
Messages from heaven
During the final days of her mother’s life, Annemarie experienced what she describes as miraculous signs, most notably involving butterflies.
As her mother passed away in a hospital room on the seventh floor, a loud thunk hit the window. Annemarie’s husband pointed out that it was a butterfly, an impossibility at that height. The butterfly flew by again just as her mother took her final breath.
“I had asked my mom for a sign, and she kept her promise,” Annemarie said. “She never broke a promise in life, and she didn’t in death either.”
That moment wasn’t the end of the butterfly encounters. On her way to tell her father about Rose Marie’s passing, a butterfly hit Annemarie’s windshield. More appeared at her mother’s home. And on the morning of her mother’s memorial, when Annemarie needed strength to finish the eulogy, she prayed for another sign.
“I said, ‘Lord, if you could bring that butterfly back, just one more time, I think I could tell the story.’ And 30 seconds later, there it was on my porch,” she said. “I called my family so I’d have witnesses.”
Those deeply spiritual experiences not only helped Annemarie grieve, they also inspired her to write “Rosie Remembers.”
The story centers on a little rosebud who starts forgetting her friends’ names and moves to a memory care garden where others help her reconnect. In the back of the book, Annemarie included two pages of practical tips for families dealing with dementia.
“Families need something soft and simple,” she said. “Facts and statistics don’t always help. People just want to know they’re not alone, and that it’s okay to just be present with their loved one.”
A reluctant author with a big vision
Although the inspiration was strong, the road to publishing wasn’t easy.
“I’m not a writer. I love people and talking, but writing a book? That felt impossible,” Annemarie confessed. “I had so much self-doubt. But I kept asking God for guidance and he lit up each step as I went.”
She found an illustrator on Fiverr whose soft, watercolor style matched the gentle tone of the story.
“I knew exactly what I wanted the characters to look like,” she explained. “It had to be tender, inviting and full of heart. Somehow, it all came together.”
“Rosie Remembers” is now being used by hospice organizations and senior living communities to help families understand and navigate the experience of memory loss.
“I’ve seen people tear up when they read it because it gives them a different perspective,” she said. “Even though it looks like a children’s book, it’s really meant for anyone going through dementia with someone they love.”
Discovering purpose in aquaponics
While working in a senior living community during the COVID pandemic, Annemarie discovered another unexpected passion — aquaponics, a sustainable way to grow food using fish and plants in a closed-loop ecosystem.
Food deliveries to the community had slowed dramatically, prompting Annemarie and a colleague to brainstorm new solutions. When the idea of aquaponics surfaced, Annemarie was intrigued by the science and the symbolism.
“The fish feed the plants, and the plants clean the water for the fish. It’s a perfect, beautiful balance,” she said. “It reminded me of what we need as humans — connection, contribution and care.”
Annemarie now operates her own aquaponics system in a local alternative high school, where students learn how to grow lettuce and other plants in water-based systems using nutrients from fish. Her current setup produces up to 56 heads of lettuce each month using just 16 goldfish in a 180-gallon tank.
“The cool thing is we’re growing food while also teaching science and life lessons,” she said. “You can’t overfeed the fish or you’ll create ammonia. If you don’t feed them enough, the plants suffer. It’s about balance, just like in life.”
She plans to connect her high school program with local seasoned citizens in an intergenerational exchange of wisdom and support.
“My seniors are some of the last generation of farmers. They have so much knowledge,” she said. “I want to bring them together with students so they can teach each other. That’s the magic.”
A new series of purpose-filled books
Annemarie is currently working on a follow-up book titled “Letty Grow,” which follows a small seed with a big purpose. The story uses aquaponics as a metaphor for spiritual and personal growth.
“Letty is a little seed that needs help from her entire aquaponics community to grow,” Annemarie said. “It’s symbolic of us, we need others to help us reach our potential.”
She hopes the book will help kids and adults understand the value of sustainable agriculture, collaboration and faith-based living.
“I want people to know that their roots matter. If you’ve got rotten roots, you’ll get rotten lettuce,” she explained. “It’s the same with our lives. What we feed ourselves — spiritually and emotionally — affects how we grow.”
Growing in faith and purpose
Now 51, Annemarie said she is more inspired and purposeful than ever.
“I really feel like I’m growing now more than I ever did in my 20s or 30s,” she said. “God didn’t give me five steps ahead. He just asked me to take the next step and that’s what I’m doing.”
Through her books, aquaponics education, and work with senior living communities, Annemarie has created a life of impact and meaning, It is a life one rooted in compassion, growth and divine direction.
“People’s stories matter,” she said. “If we don’t share them, we rob others of the chance to grow. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing — to inspire, educate and help people feel less alone.”
For more information
To connect with Annemarie, you can email her at annimd @ gmail.com or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
Her book, “Rosie Remembers,” is available on Amazon and in other bookstores.
If you order Annemarie’s book from a link above, Forward From 50 may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
After closing his business and enduring several painful years of uncertainty regarding what to do with his life, Greg founded Forward From 50 to help men and women over 50 to live more purposeful lives by pursuing things they are passionate about. A Wisconsin native, Greg currently lives in Arizona.