Jim Rogers met his wife Lorna in a small English town. The two connected over a shared obsession with VW Beetles. They married, had three children, and moved to Perth chasing sunshine. Life was good until Lorna was diagnosed with melanoma and tragically died within a few years, leaving Jim a single father to three children under nine. 

Eighteen months later, his parents sent him on a holiday he didn't want to go on. There, he met a man named Tyler. What followed was a relationship neither of them expected, kept quietly in the background of family life for years, and one that's now lasted 26 years. 

In this episode, Jim and Millie sit down with Tiffany Dunk to talk about the process of writing Jim's memoir together: the hardest parts to put into words, what it was like for Millie to hear new stories about her mum and her dad's early relationship with Tyler, and Jim's more recent diagnosis of young-onset Alzheimer's, which he's chosen to speak about publicly rather than hide. 

Plus, Jim talks about the podcast he co-hosts with Hamish MacDonald, Hold the Moment, and what he hopes it can do to de-stigmatise Alzheimer's and help people with the diagnosis feel less alone. 

Moments you’ll hear: 

• How Jim met Lorna, and the VW Beetle that started it all 
• Millie's memory of the day her dad told her and her siblings their mum had died 
• The holiday Jim didn't want to go on, and the man he met there 
• Millie's first inkling that her dad's friend was more than a friend 
• The proposal on top of the Empire State Building, and the surprise engagement at home 
• Jim's young-onset Alzheimer's diagnosis 
• Why Jim decided to write it all down, "warts and all" 

Photo Credit: Rob Palmer 

You can listen to Jim’s podcast, Hold The Moment, here. 

Find Jim & Millie’s book, Holding on to Happiness, here. 

Thank you for listening ❤️ 

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Credits 

Host: Tiffany Dunk 

Edited by Leah Porges 

Production by Leah Porges 

Our wonderful The Australian Women's Weekly team 

Our Head of Vodcasting is Rachel Fountain 

Learn More: The Australian Women's Weekly website