Julie Thomas Tullos is married to her best friend, Tony Tullos, who is in Law Enforcement, and they have one daughter together. They reside in Pilot Point, Texas with the desire to move to the Piney Woods of East Texas someday when they both retire.
Julie was an Army Brat growing up with her Dad a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army. Having grown up moving around a lot , she now has a great passion for staying grounded in Texas.
Julie is the owner and operator of Abingdon Park & Pony Farm, where she teaches English riding and goes to many hunter jumper and Welsh pony shows each year. She is the proud President of the North Texas Hunter Jumper Club and was also very involved in the United States Pony Club earlier in life.
Julie and her family live on 9 acres with several horses and ponies, a barn cat and a miniature dachshund named Luna. She loves to read, especially true stories, historical fiction and biographies. When she can be persuaded to leave the farm, her favorite vacation destination is a Cruise ship going just about anywhere she hasn’t already been.
She was influenced to write by her Mom, a lifelong reader and librarian, and her brother, Dave Thomas, also an author.
Here is the link to her book, “I Will Walk With You – an Alzheimer’s Love Story” available on Amazon
Check out these reviews:
The book is unflinching, refusing to sugarcoat the experience of dealing with Alzheimers in nostalgia and Hallmark moments. Julie tells about her journey from the heart and with raw honesty. People beginning the journey of a loved one navigating dementia may not want to go there, but they should. This is the true story of what happens. ~ D. Thomas
Julie’s book is an eye opening depiction of a family caring for their loved one as they navigate the tragedy of Alzheimer’s. The disease is devastating and the trauma to the family, caregivers, and the patient is heartbreaking. Julie and her family lived every minute of the well written story. The book will help readers have compassion, strength, and a better understanding of surviving dementia of a loved one. I highly recommend Julie’s account of I Will Walk With You. ~ J. Early
This is a beautifully written book straight from the heart. Alzheimer’s is a difficult disease to write about in such a loving and truthful way. Anybody dealing with this would benefit from reading Julie’s book. ~ S. Vreeland
This is a book of what living with two horrific life ending conditions in loved ones is like. In this case, it’s her parents and the author deals with both cancer and Alzheimer’s at the same time. The story is heartbreaking and, at the same time, inspirational. Told in both first and second persons, we see the gradual decline of both of her parents. When, as a reader, you start the book you believe it is only the story of one parent’s illness. But, Ms. Tullos was dealing with multiple family members’ illness.
She has many people in her corner, extended family, close friends and people she did not realize were hoping for a different ending. The pain of what is going on, and her need for help from her allies, is clear in the first person passages. As one reads this book, it becomes very clear that Cancer and Alzheimer’s affect every person who loves those with the illness. Both diseases are heart-wrenching but watching a loved one with Alzheimer’s is absolutely the worst. You lose them twice. The first loss is when the patient forgets their life and the people in it. The second is when they pass away.
This book, in spite of it’s subject matter, is filled with love of all kinds, passion, grief and caring. Under no circumstances would I toss this book aside. It’s gritty, and sad. It’s also filled with love and caring and more love. Kudos to Julie, her husband and daughter, her brother and his family. ~ V. Reynolds
Julie has written a beautifully told, emotionally rich story that offers a raw and honest look at what it’s like to care for a parent or loved one with Alzheimer’s. She captures both the heartbreak and the strength it takes to face a disease with so few answers and so little support. Her journey is one of loss, healing, and resilience, and it resonated with me.
Even though this book focuses on Alzheimer’s, I connected with it through my own experience of losing a parent to cancer. The emotions—grief, love, and the struggle to let go—are universal. I truly recommend this book to anyone. Whether or not Alzheimer’s has touched your family, the reality of aging parents and loss is something we can all relate to. ~ Anonymous
Reviewed by Kristen A. Peters for Readers’ Favorite
In I Will Walk With You, Julie Thomas Tullos shares a deeply personal story that feels like sitting down for a long talk with a close friend. The book follows the life of Susan and David Lee, starting all the way back with their blind date in 1967 and tracing the fifty years they spent building a family together. But it isn’t just a happy walk down memory lane; it’s a candid look at the secrets and mental health struggles that stayed hidden behind closed doors for decades. The narrative shifts gears when dementia begins to pull at the threads of their shared life, forcing the family to face a new, terrifying reality. Tullos writes with a level of honesty that is rare, showing exactly how an Alzheimer’s diagnosis changes everything for the people left to pick up the pieces. This memoir is a powerful, heart-wrenching account of what it means to stay loyal when the person you love starts to disappear.
Reading I Will Walk With You was an incredibly moving experience because Julie Thomas Tullos doesn’t try to sugarcoat the pain. As the daughter in this story, she gives us a front-row seat to the fear and exhaustion that come with being a caregiver. What really hit home for me was the way the author highlights the “fierce determination” required to protect your parents when they can no longer protect themselves. It’s a story about Susan and David Lee, sure, but it’s also about the resilience of the entire family, right down to the granddaughter, Skylar. The writing is simple and direct, which makes the emotional moments feel even heavier and more real. It’s a necessary read for anyone who has ever felt alone while dealing with a loved one’s memory loss. If you’re looking for a story that proves love is actually stronger than a diagnosis, I Will Walk With You is the book you need.