Product Description

Product Description
Mary Ellen Geist decided to leave her job as a CBS Radio anchor to return home to Michigan when her father's Alzheimer's got to be too much for her mother to shoulder alone. She chose to live her life by a different set of priorities: to be guided by her heart, not by outside accomplishment and recognition.

The New York Times wrote a front page story about Mary Ellen on Thanksgiving 2005. It was one of the most e-mailed stories for the month. Mary Ellen also kept a blog of her experiences, which received an enormous response from readers on WCBS880.com. Through her own story and through interviews with doctors and other women who've followed the "Daughter Track"--leaving a job to care for an aging parent--Geist offers eye-opening advice.She shares emotional insights on how to encourage interaction with the loved one you're caring for; how to determine daily tasks that are achievable and rewarding; how the personality of the patient affects the caregiving and the progression of the disease; as well as invaluable advice about how the reader can take care of themselves while accomplishing the Herculean task of constant caregiving to others.

Geist's years in journalism allow her to report on Boomers' caretaking dilemmas with professional objectivity, and her warm voice brings compassion and insight to one of the most difficult stituations a son or daughter may face during his or her life. ... Read more

Product Description
Author is director of SHACTI (Self-Help Alzheimer's Caregiver's Training and Information). Facts-based, hands-on guide for those caring for in-home Alzheimer's patients. Discusses how to deal with stress and difficult behaviors, how to find outside help, and how to nurture your own well-being. For consumers. Softcover. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Very Informative
I found this book to be very well written, easily understood, and very informative.It is the best book on Alzheimers that I have read so far.

A MUST Have!
This book is a must have for caregivers or anyone who has a family member with Alzheimer's.You can read it through or just pick out chapters that will help you at the time, but the biggest help to me was Chapter 12 about Approaching Death. It gave me the comfort and help that I needed.I've read many books on the subject, but this has been the most helpful yet because it is based on love.

This Book Has The Answers You Are Looking For....
This is the book that changed everything for me. Its about approaching this disease with Love, Strength and Courage.
Frena shows you how to get thru a day at a time and most of all how to keep yourself intact. We get lost in this disease, it consumes whole families. She shows you how to listen, your loved one is still within this person afflicted by this disease,you just have to listen carefully and you will see the person you love is still inside and has alot to tell.She shows you how to cope. Frena is my strength, she gave me the tools from reading her book 3 years ago. This book is my foundation and Frena is an angel. No other book affected me as much as this one. If you want to truly understand this disease, this is it!

Great Learning Tool
For anyone with a loved one suffering with Alzheimer's this is the book to get. It will help you understand the disease and how to cope. Written in everyday language it is packed with information on the stages these victims go through and how you can help them. One of the best I've read!

A book that packs a powerful message about Love
This is a tremendous resource for people who believe in the healing power of Love. Frena Gray Davidson has written a very spiritually centered book that will inevitably help any caregiver and their loved one.

She speaks about how we'll see the "divine child" untouched by darkness or sickness - our loved one - emerge in this process. And she states that we must listen to the feeling behind the words. That little statement has changed my life. When someone asks for their mother, who may have passed on decades earlier, they're really seeking comfort and security and reassurance. We need to hear their feelings that lie in back of their words.

She goes on to say that 30% of language is verbal, the rest is expressed in body language and behavior.

Further on she makes the observation that Alzheimer's patients are sensitive to the thoughts of those around them and to always give plenty of Love, both in word, action and thought.

She states that "unconditional Love is not a measure, it is a flow. You cannot give it or get it, you can only be part of it. When you love a person with Alzheimers, clarity and awareness come to that person."[p149]

The other wonderful point she makes is that so much of our disappointment in Alzheimers patients is tied to our notion of their "proper" mortal identity. Your mother doesn't know she's your mother anymore, but you can value and cherish who she is in the here and now. Don't live in the past but nurture the childlike qualities she is expressing in the present.

Tons of good advice. The other book I'd recommend for anyone dealing with Alzheimers is "Science and Health with key to the Scriptures" by M. B. Eddy. It is a terrific sourcebook on powerful prayers that heal and restore. It is the "how-to" book of prayer. ... Read more

Product Description
Updated Resources 2010Library Journal: ...families facing life with Alzheimer's will find these pieces inspirational and comforting. An uplifting addition to most Alzheimer's and caregiving collections. (Entire review at end.)Description: Amidst the clouds of Alzheimer's, which strikes an estimated 26 million people worldwide, caregivers and their loved ones grasp for rays of sunshine to dry their tears with laughter with these stories, poems, and pictures. A rich, informative, and moving collection of personal accounts, poems, and essays. David Troxel, MPH, Author, The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's CareLibrary Journal Review (Complete)Avadian, Brenda. Finding the JOY in Alzheimer's. Vol. 2:When Tears Are Dried with Laughter. North Star BooksSept. 2003, 176 p. photos. Biblio. ISBN 0-9632752-3-2 pap. $15Avadian ("Where's my shoes": My Father's Walk through Alzheimer's)follows up on her 2002 volume, Finding the Joy in Alzheimer's:Caregivers Share the Joyful Times, with this collection of personal essays,stories, and poems by family members and professional caregivers onsuch subjects as how caregivers view caregiving, lessons learned frompeople with Alzheimer's, taking a break from caregiving, and caregivertributes to their charges. Contributors range in age from elderly spousesto a ten-year-old grandchild. Their stories express the terrible lossescaused by the disease and families' love and determination to make thebest lives possible for their ill relatives while finding humor andfulfillment in caregiving tasks. Many families facing life with Alzheimer'swill find these pieces inspirational and comforting. An upliftingaddition to most Alzheimer's and caregiving collections.Watch for Finding the JOY in CAREGIVING--the third in this series of Finding the JOY titles. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Joy in Caregiving
This book is a collection of caregiving stories, poems, and personal accounts by caregivers across the nation. Brenda Avadian, the author, also shares some of her personal experiences and insights at the beginning of each section. This book captures the true essence and journey of caregiving. Ithelps caregivers to look for and appreciate the joyful moments along the way. This would be an excellent gift book for both new and experienced caregivers. ... Read more

Product Description
A front-line researcher offers cutting-edge advice on preventing and slowing the progress of Alzheimer's

Drawing on the most up-to-date information available on the disease as well as experiences from his clinical practice, Dr. Marwan Sabbagh, a leading expert in Alzheimer's research, translates the current ideas driving Alzheimer's treatment into practical information you can use to determine your risk and develop a prevention strategy. You'll find tools for assessing your personal Alzheimer's risk and "What You Can Do" sections to help you keep your brain and body healthy, plus information on the treatment of Alzheimer's and its complications.

• Gives you the most up-to-date information on Alzheimer's and Alzheimer's prevention
• Written by a neurologist specializing in geriatric neurology and dementia who is one of the country's leading experts in Alzheimer's research
• Includes exciting revelations, such as finding that early onset Alzheimer's can be significantly slowed in its progress, giving the patient as many as ten to fifteen added years of quality life

There are an estimated 5.2 million people living with Alzheimer's in America today. If you or someone you love is at risk of developing the disease or wishes to slow its advancement, this book will give you vital information to help you reduce risk and safeguard health and quality of life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Good book but needs fact checking
This book provides good general information but needs some fact checking.I picked it up in the library and quickly went to the chapter on estrogen.I take estrogen because I have osteoporosis.There are many kinds available and relatively little good data on exactly how the different varieties might help with osteoporosis or Alzheimers.The author is correct to point this out.However, he says, on page 135 "natural estrogen sources include conjugated estrogen such as Premarin, Estratest, and estradiol." This is not correct.Estratest (a product no longer offered, made by Solvay) is not conjugated estrogen -- it is esterified estrogen plus methyltestosterone. Does this make a difference?Well, who really knows.But there is growing evidence that conjugated estrogen and esterified estrogen have different impacts on the bones. The generic product that replaced Estratest -- EEMT, made by Breckenridge -- is synthetic and is not bioidentical to Estratest. The author should have checked these facts.

When I uncover something like this, it throws the integrity of the rest of the book into question.

The Alzheimers Answer
This book has been very helpful to us.We have a parent that is in the mild to moderate stages of Alzheimers and some days we did not know what was happening.This book has helped us to recognize the signs and condition and how to handle them.Thank you.I advice any one to read this book.

Excellent resource!
Excellent resource for anyone interested in Alzheimer's, especially for those who are at risk or have a loved one at risk.The most up to date information I've found, written for all of us to understand, and by a neurologist no less!My mother was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's at only 75 years of age (intermediate stage), and both my maternal grandparents had Alzheimer's as well.I have sent this book to all my siblings...it gives some relief from the fear of heredity to be able to have an active role in the possibility of prevention.The first thing I did when I bought this book was to read the chapters on vitamins and supplements (and promptly added those to my daily regimen), only then did I find myself at chapter one.

Phenominal information...Great work Doc!!!
Anything that i would like to recommend to read, when it comes to prevention we called "complementary medicine" or supplementation...my resourceful guideline for intellectual INPUT.... would be this BOOK.

RF, BayCityTexas

Impressive!
I found this book extremely helpful for anyone having questions about Alzheimer's. And that includes most people who intend to live to a ripe age! Also those who have relatives with the disease. It is written by a medical doctor but in layman's language, and it gives practical advice based on latest scientific research. ... Read more

Product Description
Five years ago, Andrea Gillies— writer, wife, and mother of three—seeing that her husband's parents were struggling to cope, invited them to move in.  She and her newly extended family relocated to a big Victorian house on a remote, windswept peninsula in the far north of Scotland, leaving behind their friends and all that was familiar;  hoping to find a new life, and new inspiration for work.

Her mother-in-law Nancy was in the middle stages of Alzheimer's Disease, and Keeper charts her journey into dementia, its impact on her personality and her family, and the author's researches into what dementia is.   As the grip of her disease tightens, Nancy's grasp on everything we think of as ordinary unravels before our eyes. Diary entries and accounts of conversations with Nancy track the slow unravelling.  The journey is marked by frustration, isolation, exhaustion, and unexpected black comedy. For the author, who knew little about dementia at the outset, the learning curve was steeper than she could have imagined. The most pernicious quality of Alzheimer’s, Gillies suggests, is that the loss of memory is, in effect, the loss of one’s self, and Alzheimer’s, because it robs us of our intrinsic self-knowledge, our ability to connect with others, and our capacity for self-expression, is perhaps the most terrible and most dehumanizing illness. Moreover, as Gillies reminds us, the effects of Alzheimer’s are far-reaching, impacting the lives of caregivers and their loved ones in every way imaginable.

Keeper is a fiercely honest “glimpse into the dementia abyss”—an endlessly engrossing meditation on memory and the mind, on family, and on a society that is largely indifferent to the far-reaching ravages of this baffling disease. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Well written honest account of caregiving
As a social worker who works with older adults, I have a lot of knowledge on the topic of Alzheimers.But to hear the honest account from a caregiver dealing with the day to day hardships, chaos and unwanted surprises that Alzheimers can create was educational.Sometimes humorous, sometimes heart wrenching, always beautifully written and honest, this is a great read for all professionals working in the older adult field.

Cathartic Dementia story for Caregivers
I LOVED this book.My father died with Lewey-Body Dementia and my Mother is now in an ALF due to dementia issues.Andrea Gillies is an exceptional writer and conveys this disease with humor, love, and best of all - medical and scientific information on a layman's level.Mrs. Gillies truly loves her mother-in-law, Nancy, and was very devoted to her well-being through thick and thin.As she describes the stages and minute-by-minute behavior of Nancy, she provides detailed but understandable information of exactly what is going on in the brain and why it effects the behavior of the sufferer.Mrs. Gillies also sees and conveys the humor of some of Nancy's behavior - while I am sure, that at the moment it occured it was not funny at all - in hindsight, and with talented writing, she is able to convey that humor.I recall many moments of my Dad's behavior that was funny, and he would laugh right along with me.Mrs. Gillies also speaks to the health care issues our governments are facing and the high cost of nursing home care.Anyone with a family member suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's should read this book as well as anyone who has a friend "suffering" as a caregiver.It is a fast read due to her wonderful presentation.And, the last chapter is the best part - it leaves the caregiver at least comfortable and at most, not guilty for leaving their loved one to a skilled nursing home where they will actually live an easier life.

An insight
Andrea,

Thank you for writing this. Before my mother went through this my idea of Alzheimer consisted of becoming forgetful, then sweetly ditzy, and fading away.

I was wrong. I had no idea what it feels like when your mother doesn't know who are. No one told me about the verbal abuse or physical violence. It takes a while to understand that it is the disease,not the person.

Tom D.
Atlanta

... Read more

Product Description
Mary Ellen Geist decided to leave her job as a CBS Radio anchor to return home to Michigan when her father's Alzheimer's got to be too much for her mother to shoulder alone. She chose to live her life by a different set of priorities: to be guided by her heart, not by outside accomplishment and recognition.

The New York Times wrote a front page story on Mary Ellen on Thanksgiving 2005. It was one of the most e-mailed stories for the month. Through her own story and through interviews with doctors and other women who've followed the "Daughter Track"--leaving a job to care for an aging parent--Geist offers emotional insights on how to encourage interaction with the loved one you're caring for; how to determine daily tasks that are achievable and rewarding; how the personality of the patient affects the caregiving and the progression of the diseases; as well as invaluable advice about how caregivers can take care of themselves while accomplishing the Herculean task of constantly caring for others.

Geist's years in journalism allow her to report on Boomers' caretaking dilemmas with professional objectivity, and her warm voice brings compassion and insight to one of the most difficult stituations a son or daughter may face during his or her life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Beautiful Book For Caregivers
This book offers so many wonderful suggestions for those caring for a parent with Alzheimer's. Not only does Ms. Geist address issues such as hospital stays for Alzheimer's patients and feeding challenges, but she offers a peek into how to design a life for an Alzheimer's patient that continues to be joyful, fulfilling and full of connection with family. I interviewed her for [...]. Here is a link to the interview: [...]

I would highly recommend this book, as it is interesting to read and has so many wonderful ideas on coping with being a caregiver, and tapping into whatever joy is possible in this situation.

A Balanced and Graceful Book
Two days after my father died, I found an interview with Mary Ellen Geist on the front page of The New York Times. How familiar her story sounded--she had left her job in New York and returned to her parents' home in Michigan to help look after her father--and what a comfort it was to read about their last adventures together.

That's a lighthearted word, adventures, but insofar as it's possible, Geist has written a cheerful and adventurous book. It's helpful, not because she has set out to train anyone on caretaking tips for dementia patients, but because she has a sharp eye and a piercing story to tell. By the time her book came out, my father's Alzheimer's lay safely in the past--but like a soldier who's been through a war, I wanted to see how others have dealt with the conflict.

Geist is especially deft on the question of coercion: of persuadingthe Alzheimer's patient to do what we think is good for them. "Getting an Alzheimer's patient to do things the way people who are not impaired do them is, in many cases, stressful for both the patient and the caregiver and could actually do more harm than good for both. Is it so important that he act like a `normal' person? To me, it's not."

That simple conviction is inevitably tested, because, as it is for a very young child, a great deal is decided for Alzheimer's patients against their will. So it was with Geist's father. She and her mother don't let him stop eating when he pushes away his plate, but find ways to make him swallow more food. Because they know it will help him walk better, they decide on double knee replacement surgery for him. Coercion is a daily response, even if it's something as simple as trying to improve his mood. I think such manipulation is an eternal debate when caring for Alzheimer's patients--who sometimes, as my brother once said to me, "need to give up for a while and stop rising to the occasion." In this balanced and graceful book, Mary Ellen Geist goes to the heart of such questions.

MUST READING FOR ANYONE INVOLVED WITH ALZHEIMER'S
Originally I saw this book in a local bookstore and it looked quite interesting.While not involved with an Alzheimer's patient, there is always that possibility.I decided to read it and found it very worthwhile.It made me understand not only many of the issues and problems experienced by the patient, but the stresses, difficulties and unrelenting "on-the-job" requirements experienced by the caregiver. That individual almost has to give up his or her own life to care for the patient.Frequently, that caregiver is also giving to others (such as children, job, spouse) as well.My cousin is caring for her mother-in-law; I sent her a copy of this enlightening book so she could better understand the disease and the need to care as well for herself, not just the patient.She vowed to get copies of this book into the hands of all the patient's other children.I would highly recommend this easy-to-read, at times funny, sometimes heartwarming, but mostly educational book on Alzheimer's from a daughter-caregiver's point of view.Worth your time.

Learn About Alzheimers From A Loving Care Giver
This nonfiction book is about a daughter who quits her job to move back home to help her mother care for her father who has Alzheimers.Reading this is an enjoyable way to learn about Alzheimers, what to expect and how to deal with it.It gives many resources for support for those who have Alzheimers and their caregivers.I found it very interesting that the dad responded to music and could remember all the words to songs but couldn't remember the right name of objects or people.He couldn't read a book or newspaper, but he could read words written on a music staff such as song lyrics.I would recommend this book to anyone who has a relationship with someone with Alzheimers or who just wants to learn more about this disease.

This daughter's role as caregiver to her father was similar to my experience in caring for my dad, although fortunately mine did not have Alzheimers. The book I wrote,My Funny Dad, Harry, shares my experience of being my aging dad's primary caregiver.He had diabetes and was practically deaf.I could certainly relate to what she was going through.

A Daughter's Love Story
What a wonderful book about Mary Ellen Geist who gives up her high paying job as a reporter, her lifestyle and all she knows to move back with her mom to take care of her dad who has Alzheimers.This book has it all--humor, sadness, touching moments.You get into it quickly and at points it is hard to put down.I enjoyed this this book!I'd give it 10 stars if I could! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A great book for caregivers of Alzheimer sufferers.
I am enjoying reading this book because it is easy to read & understand the various stages of Alzheimers. I find the personal statements helpful as well.
I think it is easier to relate to what is happening to my Mom since I have started reading it.

Everyone eventually might well needthis book.
Joanne Parrent, in her COURAGE TO CARE, gives hope to anyone with an elderly parent or other loved one.... Parrent's carefully thought through, detailed discussion of what to expect and how to handle each eventuality made my own life much easier and less guilt-ridden.I could be in the moment with my mother and stop worrying about whether she would remember what we'd done the minute before.Parrent also made me feel better about employing skilled home workers who lovingly, not only cared for my mother, but also sat with her, talking and playing music.I learned from Parrent's book that we had to live each minute at a time. ...THE COURAGE TO CARE was invaluable to me, as I know it will be for everyone who reads it.In fact, I wish I'd read this important book sooner so that I could have prepared myself for the inevitable.The crash course of reading the book, nonetheless, worked for me, as I know it will for others with loved ones who are losing their mental faculties.Parrent deserves a huge commendation for getting all this material into one book and making it readable, indeed engrossing. ... Read more

Product Description
The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Alzheimer Disease and Other Dementias is an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of dementia for practicing psychiatrists or residents who deal with cognitively impaired adults in outpatient, inpatient, and long-term care settings. With content ranging from clinical guidance to basic research, it contains information on nearly every subject related to dementing conditions or illnesses not only providing extensive coverage of clinical management issues but also enabling a deeper understanding of the causes of dementia.Designed to assist the practitioner faced with everyday dilemmas, from dosages of antipsychotic drugs to legal and ethical issues, the text describes in detail the most common conditions and diseases leading to dementia and covers pharmacologic, behavioral, and environmental treatments. It also considers a broader range of cognitive disorders and impairment in order to help practitioners recognize and treat primary brain diseases and systemic disorders affecting the brain before the stage of dementia is reached. An abundance of charts and illustrations, extensive references and additional readings, and chapter-end key points make this a practical tool for learning, while appendixes include easily administered instruments useful in daily practice for grading cognition, function, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. ... Read more

Product Description
This resource provides clinically proven strategies to help caregivers deal with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Drawing on lessons learned during 15 years of empirical clinical treatment intervention, this manual is an invaluable resource for physicians and collaborating health care providers who work with families caring for an AD patient. Counseling the Alzheimer's Caregiver provides:

-Proven clinically-researched strategies to help caregivers deal with the enormous physical and emotional stress of caring for a loved one with AD

-Outlines, in detail, of the symptoms of AD at each stage

-Descriptions of both caregiver's and counselor's roles from the initial diagnosis to after the patient's death

-Ways to create individualized intervention plans for the caregiver to use in managing behavioral and psychological symptoms of AD and maintaining their own well-being

-Information on formal support services for patients living at home

-Guidance on making the decision to place the patient in a residential facility

More than 80 percent of AD patients receive care from family or other non-formal help. With AD expected to affect an estimated 14 million people by the mid-21st century, this book is an increasingly important addition to your library. ... Read more

Product Description
Afflicting nearly half of all persons over the age of 85, Alzheimer’s disease kills nearly 100,000 Americas a year as it insidiously robs them of their memory and wreaks havoc on the lives of their loved ones. It was once minimized and misunderstood as forgetfulness in the elderly, but Alzheimer’s is now at the forefront of many medical and scientific agendas, for as the world’s population ages, the disease will kill millions more and touch the lives of virtually everyone.

The Forgetting is a scrupulously researched, multilayered analysis of Alzheimer’s and its social, medical, and spiritual implications. David Shenk presents us with much more than a detailed explanation of its causes and effects and the search for a cure. He movingly captures the disease’s impact on its victims and their families, and he looks back through history, explaining how Alzheimer’s most likely afflicted such figures as Jonathan Swift, Ralph Waldo Emerson,and William de Kooning. The result is a searing, powerfully engaging account of Alzheimer’s disease, offering a grim but sympathetic and ultimately encouraging portrait.Amazon.com Review
First attracted to his subject by its horrific ability to destroy the human mind and body, journalist David Shenk ultimately finds reasons to accept Alzheimer's disease--and almost forgive it--in The Forgetting. Shenk describes his work as a biography, the life story of a biological outlaw that sends victims "on a slow but certain trajectory toward forgetting and death." But his illuminating portrait of this growing epidemic offers more than a basic chronology. Shenk begins with the disease's christening in 1906, when German physician Alois Alzheimer discovered mysterious tangles and plaques in the brain of a dead woman who in life had suffered severe memory loss and dementia. The tale unfolds to reveal a host of intriguing players: struggling scientists (the clever, the bullheaded, and the pharmaceutically endowed), politicians divided by opposing priorities, exhausted caregivers, and patients whose biological clocks virtually tick backward over an average eight-year period. It includes impossible twists: longer life expectancies and successful treatments for other diseases mean more cases of Alzheimer's will inevitably occur. Shenk's graceful synthesis of personal accounts (from Plato to Reagan) with a century-long search for answers and cures leads him to an impressive conclusion. Perhaps Alzheimer's disease is much like winter: "Once it is gone, we'll face less hardship, but we'll also have lost an important lens on life." --Liane Thomas ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Excellent Writing and Information for someone caring for their Mom
I was devastated when I learned my Mom had Alzheimer's. She was a very young 82 and healthy as could be, except for her brain. I didn't have a clue what to think, expect, or plan for in her future.

After reading "The Forgetting," I felt well-prepared for what was to come and referred to it often as my Mom's disease progressed.

It was invaluable to know that Mom's agitation and behaviors were common to the disease, not a change in her own personality but view from the other side of Alzheimer's.

If you have a family or friend with Alzheimer's, this book will give you depth and meaning to what they will endure.

I loved it,,,and still read it on occasion even since my Mom passed away 3 years ago.

Sandy
[...]

"The Forgetting" is one to fill your mind with knowledge, hope, and insight.
The author does an extraordinary job painting the complex details about Alzheimer's into a portrait that can be easily accessible to the general audience.I've learned many fascinating things through this book. After finishing this book, I have migrated from believing that Alzheimer's is a horrible, dreaded disease to one with a sense of appreciation for the inevitable things in life. Shenk quoted in his book, ""Babies are born with no memory. They gather memories as they grow. As they get old they lose these memories so they can be reborn again in void."

The Classic Text on Alzheimer's

This is the classic text on Alzheimer's. It's almost a decade old, but reads like it was written yesterday. Shenk tells us how the disease was discovered, how it develops in the brain and how it plays out in the daily lives of patients.

I read this within a month of my father's diagnosis of advanced second stage dementia, and I've never been so comforted by a book. Even now, a few years later, I occasionally take "The Forgetting" down from the shelf and hold it. I read a few pages. I feel secure with it, I'm in the hands of a skilled, trustworthy and empathic writer.

Reading the book the first time, I was electrified to recognize in my father almost every symptom Shenk described. At the same time I was soothed, because I understood that it wasn't my father who was so bizarre, it was the disease playing out in his hippocampus, amygdala and temporal lobes. To me it was a relief to know that his brain was going bad in an entirely common way: that he was not, if you will, a strange human being, but entirely normal for a patient with Alzheimer's.

David Shenk is the ideal journalist, sympathetic without the least hint of sentimentality. His prose is perfectly crafted, never an awkward sentence, with a perfect balance of exposition and narrative. That is, he gives us technical explanations about the disease, but we're never far from the stories of a lively set of characters. We hear about Frau Auguste D., the original dementia patient of Alois Alzheimer, and Ronald Reagan, and Ralph Waldo Emerson and Jonathan Swift, two writers who suffered extreme memory loss and the inability to make sense of even the words they'd written themself. It's a richly peopled world, and Shenk makes it clear that this is a timeless disease, one that has been with us always.

I was surprised by the Acknowledgments section of the book, which goes on for three full pages and names a hundred people. You can see there how much research went into the book. But while reading it, I felt as if Shenk had sat down and typed it out without the least effort. Like a great athlete, he makes the job look effortless.

Expanding the understanding of Alzheimer Disease
THE FORGETTING is an exceptional book on the subject of Alzheimer's. One follows the historical biography of this disease through lucid and engaging writing, with much anecdotal evidence of its' effects upon prominent persons, like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Willem de Kooning. The author offers ways of understanding the disease that include perceptions of some actual sufferers who, themselves, offer their insights. Having read several books on this topic, this is the one I pass along to others as a valuable book to expand one's understanding about Alzheimer's, while being eminently readable.

Alzheimer's:Portrait of an Epidemic
I purchased this book after seeing it described as "remarkable" by Oliver Sacks, in his own book "Musicophilia". I gave the book to a friend, whose husband is sadly, suffering the early signs of probable Alzheimer's disease, but as a retired surgeon, with only a rudimentary knowledge of the medical aspects of the condition myself, I was also interested to read it first.For some reason, I found the introductory passages of the book a little dense, but thereafter, it was thoroughly engaging and enlightening.In particular, the book struck a nice balance between explaining the known microscopic biological details of the illness, and practical aspects that might help a relative or care-giver come to terms with the condition on a daily basis.Examples of the experience and behaviour of well-known historic figures who probably had Alzheimer's helped to emphasise the unselective nature of the illness, and the potentially depressing aspects of the course of the disease were treated with great sensitivity.Overall, I thought it was excellent. My friend (who is non-medical), has found it to be very informative and in many ways reassuring, in her attempt to understand what is happening to her husband. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Excellent Everything
This was an excellent book.The service was excellent and I received the book quickly.

Living Memories
As with all books in the Healing Place series, Voices of Alzheimer's gift is its ability to distill the many facets of a disease into poignant and memorable short essays.I agree that this is not a feel-good, upbeat book full of happy endings. However...readers do hear from families who, while changed forever by alzheimer's, still felt that they did the best they could under the circumstances. Many writers describe the peace that they were able to achieve about their own family member's condition, even in the midst of heartbreak.

It is particularly relevant that we hear repeatedly who each writer's special person IS: a beloved wife, a father who loved to garden, an immigrant from Yugoslavia, a grandpa who loved to give out dollar bills. Every individual with AD lived a life experience before it which is worth the time to know. With AD in particular it can be reassuring to family members that their loved one's life has significance, and what has made that person so special to them can never disappear. Negative behaviors have to be seen for what they are: a manifestation of the disease, not the deliberate actions of a difficult person. For exhausted caregivers or overwhelmed clinical staff, this is an important distinction.

Ideas for memory aids, safety, and keeping the individual with Alzheimer's connected with family are found throughout. The importance of respite care and the challenge of finding it are discussed, since family caregivers can become locked into daily routines, unable to step away and take care of themselves, increasing their own health risk over time.

The books that I have seen in this series do include brief discussions about medications and research, but the wide range of incredibly personal family stories take center stage. In the case of AD this means it may be appropriate for different caregivers at different times, depending on their loved one's AD stage and their own grief process.

This book is highly recommended for anyone working in AD areas, including assisted living, residential care, clinical, and community day care settings. An index of resources includes support groups, fundraising, research, sources of financial help, and counseling services. It should be noted that the listed Alzheimer's Association ([...]) and many other groups have message boards on the web where caregivers can exchange ideas and information. Registration may be necessary at some sites but they are free of charge and can be accessed 24/7.

A wonderful, profoundly moving book
I purchased this book for the three pages written by Kate Mulgrew (a.k.a. Captain Janeway :), but after I read her provocative pages I started the book from the beginning and just couldn't put it down.This book is packed with honest, jarring anecdotes that literally take your breath away.

This is a beautiful book, but it is absolutely heartbreaking.I'm not sure that it is the kind of book you would give to someone who has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, although, on the other hand, perhaps it could spur that person to take care of living wills and other business while they are still able to make rational decisions.

Reading this book could have immeasurable value to caregivers, as they may feel less isolated and more connected, empowered.And I think it would be an excellent book for anyone who is trying to understand the impact of Alzheimer's on caregivers and families.

The book also works as an advocacy piece -- I can't imagine anyone reading this book without feeling motivated to DO something -- donate money, volunteer, sponsor a friend going on an Alzheimer's walk, work for a cure, etcetera.

However, this really is not a hopeful book.I know it says something important and perhaps hopeful about the human spirit, that ordinary people watch those they love be destroyed by this disease, that they care for them, suffer with them, perform profound acts of love and compassion, and eventually come out on the other side.But this book makes it pretty clear that those suffering from Alzheimer's, at this point in time, are not going to experience miracle cures and that the disease must run its dreadful course.

A Great Start
Had submitted an article of my own for this anthology and had to withdraw it for reasons which had nothing to do with this publication.This is an EXCELLENT publication and I am so very happy for the publishers that they decided to go for such a worthwhile effort.Wonderful stories, etc - great source of information from the mouths of those most closely informed by this disease.I highly recommend this book, and the coming series, to anyone having a family member with one of these diseases, or caring in general about others and wanting to understand as much as possible.Shelby Staples

Voices of Alzheimers Personal Stories
Very beautifully written and insightful personal stories about the disease that will put it in a new light. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

A must read for caregivers and family members
The Q & A /interview writing style approach was great. I learned a great deal about redirecting and how to reduce the likelihood of my godmother becoming agitated or violent. It is comforting to know that her exhibited behavior is not atypical. The soundest piece of advice I learned was that it is normal for demented people to act dementedly. To expect them to act rationally is, well, irrational.

Coping with Alzheimer'sA Caregivers Emotional Survival Guide
This book was very helpful and took away a lot of the fuilt feelings that go with looking after someone with Alzheimer's.

Compassionate Reality
This book is the best that I've seen or read for caregivers. It really puts things in perspective and offers useable solutions. I've read it so much it fell apart. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a love one with Alzheimer's. It would also be helpful for friends and loved ones other than the caregiver. Thumbs Up. A Big Thank You to the Author's.

An absolute must for spouses and children
This book addresses most of the emotional issues for spousal and chilren who caregive someone with dementia. It shows how you can think your way out of the deep hole you put yourself in while caring for your loved one. Change your thinking and you will automatically make things better for both you and your whole family. Buy this book!!!

for the caregiver
so many books out there focus on the person with alzheimers and very few address the caregiver adequately.My ailing mother is caring for my father and her inability to do a good job was fodder for all sorts of of emotional issues - she needed more than a small chapter in the back of a book.This book was wonderful and validated all her feelings and let her know she was not alone.Too bad it's so difficult to find.It has a question and answer format with questions like "I feel so bad when I yell at him for not remembering.I know he's sick but I just get so frustrated!What can I do?".Practical, useful, and true to life. ... Read more

Product Description
A tremendous resource for all those grappling with Alzheimer's disease, including patients, families, caregivers, and professionals. This fully revised and updated edition gives the latest information on causes, preventive measures, diagnosis, treatment, and drugs. But The Loss of Self goes even further than the biological, medical, and social issues to explore the emotional challenges any person coping with Alzheimer's will experience. Personal stories give hope, dignity, and ideas for solving even the most difficult problems such as sexuality, violence, abuse, and family conflict. The Loss of Self speaks to those suffering from Alzheimer's and to family members wanting to understand how to help a relative and to meet their own needs over the long years of caring. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent Resource and Beautifully Written
I was deeply involved in the creation of this edition, and I can say from experience that the authors have crafted a masterpiece.So much work, diligence, research, and love went into this revision.It is a great resource for family members of someone with Alzheimer's and related disorders, physician's and other practitioners, and even people who have been recently diagnosed.It can be used to educate someone who knows little about dementia or offer a new perspective to the experienced clinician.I highly recommend this book!

Enrich your understanding of how the disease affects victim
This is a book caregivers can hand to relatives and friends to read inorder to enrich their understanding of how the disease affects both thevictim and their caregiver.It is not only informative in a very practicaland easy to read manner but it is sensitive and to the point about thestages of Alzheimer's Disease and the human needs of the people who facethis illness.The personal stories highlighted are described in ways thataren't merely words on paper written by someone safely detached from theimpact this illness has on living people.This book stands out in my mindfor that reason.It also speaks to the loss of relationships as theillness progresses.I refer to over and over and its one of the first Iread after I realized my husband Tom and I were facing Alzheimer's Disease. ... Read more

Product Description
Grandpa takes care of the garden, kneads bread, and makes music on the piano.Everyone in Callie's family helps out around the house, now that Grandpa, who has Alzheimer's, lives with them.The family becomes Grandpa's "home team," and Callie loves spending time with them.As months go by, Grandpa forgets more, and he can't do as much as he could before.But he can still make music - his fingers remember the notes on the piano.And when he can't recall the words to a favorite old song, Callie helps him come up with new things that they can sing about together.Alison Acheson's thoughtful storytelling and Bill Farnsworth's touching paintings portray a family that learns to adapt to the challenges of Alzheimer's disease while making the very best of their time together. ... Read more

Product Description
The second edition provides effective strategies and activities for the care of people with Alzheimer's disease. Written from the viewpoint that activity-focused care will reduce the need for sedation and physical restraints. Aimed at occupational therapists, students, nurses, home health aides and families of people with Alzheimer's disease. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Informative book re Alzheimers Disorder
I just purchased this book, and am still reading it.Thus far I am finding it very informative and helpful for the professional who works with AD patients, and also the caregiver at home who needs assistance coping with the adjustments of finding suitable activities of the Alzheimers person.I was hoping that the book would give more information on how to acquire the Life Story of a patient, and how to utilize that specific information in activities to the utmost therapeutic manner.I know that some Day Care Centers are utilizing "The Best Friends" approach to therapy, and have a Life Story "FILE" that staff and volunteers can easily access to get info or add data regarding the participants lifetime events.I'm looking for ways that facilities are utilizing the Life Story, specifically the types of files that store the stories.

This book is answering lots of questions I had about a very complicated disease that puzzles many people in our country.Alzheimer Disease continues to increase and is expected to increase in numbers of people, in the future. We desperately need more uptodate research on this important mental degenerative disease.

Wow!!Amazing resource
This is the bible of dementia care.It literally has everything you need to know about helping demented individuals, and then some.A definite must read for the caregiver, nurse, or anyone on staff at a nursing home, from dietary aide to administrator.Truly amazing book.

Resourceful Care Planning Guide
I don't need a thousand words to encourage the publisher to print more books.This book provides wonderful information on the problems that arise and some strategies for care of the individual with Alzheimer's.I really wished I hadn't loaned my copy out...ah well perhaps someone is finding what a great resource it is for the caregiver. ... Read more

Product Description
My unique activities are designed to stimulate memory function, enhance social skills and improve the quality of life for individuals at any stage of dementia. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

ANOTHER 5 STAR REVIEW
Amira C. Tame has written yet another life saving tool!I am a fan of Ms. Tame's work.I ran into Ms. Tame at a professional convention some time ago and lucky for me she was the key note speaker...I learned so much that day and I that's when I bought her (first) book in order to practice her techniques on my grandfather.My grandfather improved dramatically - he actually responded very well to the activities!I am delighted that Ms. Tame wrote another book!And this book is filled with new activites and techniques that continues her passion for improving life!I can't stress how extremely effective her activities are.I tell anyone I know that has a loved one with dementia about Ms. Tame's books - infact I bought these books several times as gifts for friends that "didn't know what to do anymore" and they are thankful for the endless activities and techniquesthat Ms. Tame educates the reader with - because THEY WORK!
Bravo! We would love to see even more of her work!

Physical Therapist
This book is a great resource for tayloring the therapeutic session for a client/patiant with alzheimer's disease.I have already used the techniques suggested in this book during the treatment sessions in order to increase the client's attention to task, improve independence with functional tasks, and increase strength and endurance in the upper and lower extremities.In addition to the tremendous use I obtained from this book, it is a great read.

Zanobia Rababeh,MPT
Physical Therapy Clinical Specialist in Neurological Rehabilitation and Recovery

An excellent resource for the caregiver of a person with dementia.
Amria Tame's book on ABCs of Activities for Alzheimer's Disease is very well written and will be extremely helpful to the person afflicted with the disease, their loved ones, and care givers. The book is well organized and offers the reader with proven techniques to enhance the quality of the Alzheimer's patient's life. The author includes personal stores of her work with persons with dementia, including one of my Aunt Sophie, who greatly improved her enthusiasm for life under her tutelage. The activities and methodologies provided in the book are easy to understand and apply. The author also includes a selection of poetry throughout the book which aptly enhances her message. ... Read more

Product Description
Updated 2006Caregivers find JOY caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's despite losing them day-by-day."...comforting, spiritually healing book filled with touches of wry humor..." Midwest Book Review"We laugh so we won't cry," explain caregivers."...a breath of fresh air...The lovingly told humorous stories and anecdotes prove once again that laughter is good medicine..."B.J. FitzRay, Author, Alzheimer's ActivitiesWatch for Finding the JOY in CAREGIVING--the third in this series of Finding the JOY titles. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A brilliantly conceived and constructed book
Witnessing my mother?s abilities and personality whither away from Alzheimer?s has been difficult. Comfort and advice from friends, family and the medical community has helped, and so has reading Brenda Avadian?s brilliantly conceived and constructed book, Finding the Joy in Alzheimer?s. Discovering what others have experienced and learned in similar circumstances-?particularly the heartfelt reflections of joy?-has enabled me to see my mother and her disease in a new, brighter light. Highly recommended.

Well, it's about time
I was so thrilled to see a collection of experiences from other people, similar to mine.My Dad suffered from Alzheimers and I felt like a freak for having reflected on the illness with a smile.For me, this horrific disease showed me a man that I never knew growing up.All of his barriers were broken down and I got to know, not only who my Dad was, but who I was.I have such a joy from knowing this that it is hard for me to be bitter about that which stole my father, for at the same time, it allowed me to know the father I never knew before.

It is stories like this that the author has compiled here.Many humorous, many touching, all showing a connection where many think none could be found.Yes, there is a time when the people we know and love so dearly are robbed from us by this devastating disease, but through the process there are many joyous times to be had.

Read this book and you'll understand

Unfamiliar Territory
I'm an older (born 12/12/1952) Internet user, so--in spite of all of those reassuring, little, gold padlocks shown at the bottom of ordering pages at online stores--I still wasn't ready to put my main credit card or checking account information out in Cyberspace.So, I came up with a doable solution, creating an account for just this very purpose.

If purchasing this book wasn't actually my FIRST venture into the unfamiliar territory of online shopping (and I'm almost 100% sure that it was), it came pretty close.

Venturing out into this unfamiliar territory has had more positives than negatives for me--but there's that unfamiliar territory that is among the worst nightmares of both patients and caregivers:dealing with Alzheimer's Disease.

I had been reading the online letters that Debbie Center had been writing to a mother who would never again have the comprehension to read them--so, these letters were more for Debbie than her mother.And more for helping others who might read those letters to cope should something like this happen in their families.

One day, in an IM conversation, Debbie shared her sadness with me that her mother was rapidly going downhill, and she felt helpless to stop it from happening--yet, she also had the great news that she would have a part in this book.

And that's the thread running through this book:the moments of joy found within the Alzheimer's experience.

The people who have contributed to this book are people who mourn the slipping away of those people--generally, parents and spouses--who were once so vibrant and alert.

Yet, these same people have learned to find joy and comfort in some of the simple things of life, such as unexpected smiles, words, and laughter from their loved ones.

In one case, a family--who had gotten out of contact due to distance and schedules--began a tradition of having annual family reunions due to wanting to get everybody together while the matriarch of the family could still recognize and enjoy them.

Open this book and share the lives of those in this difficult and unfamiliar territory--and share those special moments of joy that make it all worthwhile!!!

Filled with touches of wry humor
Finding The Joy In Alzheimer's: Caregivers Share The Joyful Times by Brenda Avadian is a comforting, spiritually healing book filled with touches of wry humor and a serious understanding of the difficulties of Alzheimer's, and how important it is to find and treasure wondrous moments when caring for someone afflicted with this debilitating neurological disease. Finding The Joy In Alzheimer's is not intended to be a source of advice about the legal, physical, or medical difficulties of Alzheimer's disease; rather it was written to bolster the souls and spirits of those charged with caregiving responsibilities for loved ones suffering from the ravages of Alzheimers. As such, it emphatically succeeds in its mission and intention.

So Many Joys...They are countless!
(...) The stories and poems are so sweet and heartwarming. When you get so deeply involved in this disease, you tend to become isolated; you think you are the only one who is going through this. Ms. Avadian's selection of stories gives the reader a lighthearted look into the trials and tribulations of caregiving, all the while letting the readers see what they are experiencing is no different from what they are reading. From the poem "CareGiver," to the stories of "I've got rocks in my head," or "Do you take...in sickness and in health...I do," or "Ice cream never tasted so good," and yes even "Family of Friends," the reader immediately feels love and support. With all the technical/clinical books that are available on Alzheimer's, it is absolutely refreshingly wonderful to have humor to help heal the caregiver's heart! ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
ALZHEIMER'S CAREGIVERS GET HELP . . . WITH A NEW BOOK FROM RAYVE

Hundreds of Activities for Men and Women with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders

Contains an incredible compilation of creative activities and fascinating information that will benefit both Alzheimer's caregivers and patients. The 288-page, idea-packed book has suggestions for everyday and special-occasion activities, and facilitates communication between caregiver and AD patient with helpful details about social eras the patient may have experienced during his or her lifetime, U.S. holidays, religious holy days, and modern invention timelines. In addition, there are topic-appropriate questions to ask the patient, tips for successful activities, caregivers' anecdotes, resource lists, encouraging words, and much more. (See Contents below). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Was sent a 10 yr old discarded library book to my surprise!
Was very dissapointed when I received a discarded 10 yr old library book which was probably free to the seller or one of those 25 cent buys at a library rummage sale.Seller probably made 10-20 times what they paid for it.It's so old that the information is usless.

Better for 1:1 interaction than groups
This gives a lot of ideas for 1:1 interaction for at home or long term situations.It is not as helpful for groups or an acute care setting.

Not so great
This book is a thumb-nail reference for ideas to enrich the lives of those with Alzheimer's or other senile dementing disorders. However, as a professional therapist, I find the ideas rather involved. I believe these ideas are more appropriate for primary caregivers and family. As someone who visits ALFs, I'd have to have a HUGE bag of tricks to accomplish most of these activities (and each tailored to the individuals' pasts).

Alzheimer's Actiities
An excellent resource for caregivers of Alzheimer patients.Not quite as good for workers in the field.

Good Work
Hi, I am very please with this book.I had to wait about 2 weeks but it was worth the wait.Thanks! ... Read more