The Heartbreak of Alzheimer's


Book Description

THE HEARTBREAK OF ALZHEIMER'S is a true account of how Alzheimer's disease affected the author's husband, his family and friends. It describes the first noticeable symptoms and, as the disease progressed, the gradual deterioration of his cognitive skills. It relates how the disease was diagnosed in February, 1996; how the family coped with it, and the heart-wrenching decision to place him in a care center in May, 2001. The author relates how he was sent to a psychiatric hospital in Marietta for treatment and five days later she received an affidavit from the Washington County Court stating that a hearing would be held to determine if he were mentally ill. She tells how, with the support of family members, she resolved this issue and brought him back to a care center near his home. The author compiled this book from notes which she recorded during her husband's illness and it is hoped that information in this book will be helpful to others who also may be experiencing similar situations with loved ones. The book also includes a list of suggestions for the caregiver.




The Last Dance


Book Description

A positive approach to dealing with Alzheimer'ss, The Last Dance is a book of courage and inspiration. Susan McLane was a pioneer and public servant advocating for the families and environment of New Hampshire over her twenty-five years in the NH State Senate. The Last Dance tells the story of her struggles with Alzheimer'ss disease, interwoven with memories of a lifetime.




Ten Thousand Joys & Ten Thousand Sorrows


Book Description

"Ten Thousand Sorrows & Ten Thousand Joys offers a vision of lives well-led, and of love in the thick of crisis and loss. Beyond inspiring."-Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence "This beautiful book is unlike any other personal account of living with Alzheimer's disease that I have ever read . . . it offers patients and families practical insights into how they can live their lives more fully amidst the heartbreak of a mind-robbing illness."- Paul Raia, Director of Patient Care and Family Support, Alzheimer's Association, Massachusetts Chapter "A story of courage, love, and growing wisdom in the face of Alzheimer's."-Joseph Goldstein, author of One Dharma, Founder / Director of Insight Meditation Society In this profound and courageous memoir, Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle describes how her husband's Alzheimer's diagnosis at the age of seventy-two challenged them to live the spiritual teachings they had embraced during the course of their life together. Following a midlife career shift, Harrison Hobliztelle, or Hob as he was called, a former professor of comparative literature at Barnard, Columbia, and Brandeis University, became a family therapist and was ordained a Dharmacharya (senior teacher) by Thich Nhat Hanh. Hob comes to life in these pages as an incredibly funny and brilliant man who never stopped enjoying a good philosophical conversation-even as his mind, quite literally, slipped away from him. And yet when they first heard the diagnosis, Olivia and Hob's initial reaction was to cling desperately to the life they had had. But everything had changed, and they knew that the only answer was to greet this last phase of Hob's life consciously and lovingly. Ten Thousand Joys & Ten Thousand Sorrows provides a wise and compassionate vision for maintaining hope and grace in the face of life's greatest challenges. (This memoir was originally self-published as The Majesty of Your Loving.)




Before I Forget


Book Description

"Working with Vanity Fair contributing editor Michael Shnayerson, B. and her husband Dan share B.'s unfolding story on dealing with early-onset Alzheimer's. Crafted in short chapters that interweave their narrative with ... advice, readers learn in small bites about dealing with Alzheimer's disease's day-to-day challenges, the family tensions, and ways of coping, as well as gain tips on diet and exercise from a lifestyle maven using her decades of expertise in a new and unexpected way"--




Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer's


Book Description

A compassionate memoir of younger-onset Alzheimer's disease with thoughtful guidelines for caregivers. On a family vacation in 2009, Dr. Renée Brown Harmon felt the first jolt of fear that something might be wrong. How could her husband, Harvey, a highly intelligent physician, marathon runner, and devoted father, be struggling to keep up with their guide's simple instructions or unable to do simple math to calculate their daughter's age? The heartbreaking truth was confirmed nine months later when he was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer's disease at age fifty. Soon after, Harmon felt she had no choice but to inform the state medical board that it was no longer safe for her husband to see patients in their shared practice. Suddenly forced to manage both the family and business they'd built together, she stayed afloat by leaning on friends, family, and her faith through Harvey's illness. Part personal story, part instructional guide for caregivers, Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer's is an essential primer for anyone facing the tremendous challenge of caring for a loved one with memory loss. Each chapter ends with a different principle of caregiving and offers readers suggested best practices to bring greater balance to the role of family caregiver. Drawing upon principles of compassionate caregiving-from her own experience caring for her husband and her nearly thirty years as a family practice doctor-Harmon offers a uniquely clear-eyed account of how this disease manifests itself and shares her feelings of loss and heartbreak with honesty, grit, and grace.




Living in the Labyrinth


Book Description

Living In The Labyrinth is the story of how one woman found the strength and the courage to cope with a devastating disease that has afflicted five million Americans. Far from being an exercise in self-pity or a standard autobiography, this is an unflinching and ultimately uplifting look at a debilitating illness from the inside out. “Somewhere there is that ever-present reminder list of what I am supposed to do today. But I cannot find it. I attempt to do the laundry and find myself outside, in my backyard, holding soiled clothes. How did I get here? How do I get back?” Only forty-five when she first began to struggle with the memory lapses and disorientation that signal the onset of Alzheimer’s, Diana Friel McGowin has written a courageous, stirring insider’s story of the disease that is now the fourth leading killer of American adults. Diana’s personal journey through days of darkness and light, fear and hope gives us new insight into a devastating illness and the plight of its victims, complete with a list of early warning signs, medical background, and resources for further information. But Diana’s story goes far beyond a recounting of a terrifying disease. It portrays a marriage struggling to survive, a family hurt beyond words, and a woman whose humor and intelligence triumph over setbacks and loss to show us the best of what being human is. “A stunner of a book . . . it takes the reader on a terrifying but enlightening journey.”—San Antonio News Express “Touching and sometimes angry . . . a poignant insider’s view.”—The Cincinnati Enquirer




Voices of Alzheimer's


Book Description

Offers more than fifty true stories of lives being transformed by Alzheimer's, featuring essays written by patients, family, friends, spouses, and caregivers that have been touched by the disease.




Creating Moments of Joy Along the Alzheimer's Journey


Book Description

The beloved best seller has been revised and expanded for the fifth edition. Jolene Brackey has a vision: that we will soon look beyond the challenges of Alzheimer's disease to focus more of our energies on creating moments of joy. When people have short-term memory loss, their lives are made up of moments. We are not able to create perfectly wonderful days for people with dementia or Alzheimer's, but we can create perfectly wonderful moments, moments that put a smile on their faces and a twinkle in their eyes. Five minutes later, they will not remember what we did or said, but the feeling that we left them with will linger. The new edition of Creating Moments of Joy is filled with more practical advice sprinkled with hope, encouragement, new stories, and generous helpings of humor. In this volume, Brackey reveals that our greatest teacher is having cared for and loved someone with Alzheimer's and that often what we have most to learn about is ourselves.




Losing Mom


Book Description

Author Cynthia Ryan offers a heartfelt glimpse into the experience of losing a parent to Alzheimer's disease. She shares the realities and heartbreak of her mother's experience, one that was both enhanced and complicated by their complex mother-daughter relationship and family dynamics. Shy and distant, but also independent, her mother didn't often find joy in the roles of wife and mother. The trials of a scarred childhood, marked by poverty and an alcoholic father, made true happiness elusive for her mother. On Christmas Eve of 2000, Cynthia started to see noticeable changes in her mother. A devoted grandmother, she had never forgotten to buy presents for one of her grandchildren-until that day. What's more, she spent the day pouting, because the family was celebrating Christmas one day early. Over the coming months, her behavior grew increasingly erratic and forgetful; she became agitated more and more easily. Cynthia finally took her mother to the doctor, where everyone's worst fears were confirmed: Alzheimer's. In this memoir, Cynthia shares their journey of understanding, forgiveness, blessings, healing, and renewed love. She celebrates her mother's life, even as it spiraled out of her control.




The Alzheimer’S Diary


Book Description

One who Forgets and One who is Forgotten One in eight over the age of sixty-five and one in three over the age of eighty will be diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease. In her memoir, author Joan Sutton narrates a moving account of her years as caregiver to her husband, noting that Alzheimers is a disease of the brain that is paid for with the currency of the heart. A member of the board of overseers of The Alzheimers Drug Discovery Foundation, she stresses the need to develop more effective treatment for the five million Americans currently diagnosed with this incurable disease, pointing out that for every patient there is a large circle of others also affected. Sutton offers practical advice for the care of the caregiver and the patient, and shares the pain that came as she watched pieces of her husbands self disappear. Following his death, after what Nancy Reagan described as the long goodbye, she writes candidly about coping with her new status as a widow and the aching loneliness of the heart that is the price paid for having known a great love. 100% of the authors royalties (20 to 40% of the purchase price) will benefit the Alzheimers Drug Discovery Foundation/Canada. Cover design by John R. Lewis