Let's Talk Dementia!Carol Howell, a Certified Dementia Specialist and caregiver to her mother, helps to educate the reader on the various forms of dementia. She also provides hands-on tips that make life easier for the caregiver and better for the loved one with dementia. The book is scattered with "smiles" that brighten the day. The author reminds the readers of her motto-"Knowledge brings POWER. Power brings HOPE, and HOPE brings SMILES."You've just got to laugh! "Let's Talk Dementia is an informative and reassuring guide that will help you through what, for many people, can seem like an overwhelming challenge. By making medical information easy to understand and providing practical tips for dealing with countless day-to-day situations, this handy book gives you everything you need." - Dr. Neal Barnard, MD, Best Selling Author and frequent guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, CBS Morning Show, and many others"This is a well written book for the families affected by Alzheimer's disease. It is easy to understand and provides excellent education and guidance to the caregivers in their struggle to manage their relatives. This should be a must read for anyone involved in Alzheimer's care." - M. Reza Bolouri, MD"Spot on advice from someone who knows dementia. If someone you love has dementia, you need this book." - Dr. Steve OehmePublished in connection with Hartline Literary Agency, serving the Christian book community. Visit us at www.hartlineliterary.com.

A guide to more successful communication for the millions of Americans caring for someone with dementia: “Offers a fresh approach and hope.”—NPR Revolutionizing the way we perceive and live with Alzheimer’s, Joanne Koenig Coste offers a practical approach to the emotional well-being of both patients and caregivers that emphasizes relating to patients in their own reality. Her accessible and comprehensive method, which she calls habilitation, works to enhance communication between care partners and patients and has proven successful with thousands of people living with dementia. Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s also offers hundreds of practical tips, including how to: · cope with the diagnosis and adjust to the disease’s progression · help the patient talk about the illness · face the issue of driving · make meals and bath times as pleasant as possible · adjust room design for the patient’s comfort · deal with wandering, paranoia, and aggression “A fine addition to Alzheimer's and caregiving collections.”—Library Journal (starred review) “Promises to transform not only the lives of patients but those of care providers…This book is a gift.”—Sue Levkoff, coauthor of Aging Well

Experts in end-of-life care tell us that we should talk about death and dying with relatives and friends, but how do we get such conversations off the ground in a society that historically has avoided the topic? This book provides one example of such a conversation. The coauthors take up challenging questions about pain, caregiving, grief, and what comes after death. Their unlikely collaboration is itself connected to death: the murders of two of Irene's closest friends and Steve's support in perpetuating memories of those friends' lives and not just their violent ends. The authors share the results of a no-holds-barred discussion they conducted for several years over email. Readers can consider a range of views on complicated issues to which there are no right answers. Letting ourselves pose certain questions has the potential to profoundly change the way we think about death, how we choose to die, and, just as importantly, the way we live. Honest, probing, sensitive, and even humorous at times, the completely open discussions in this book will help readers deal with a topic that most of us try to avoid but that everyone will face eventually.

A series of letters between Koop, a former Surgeon General, and Johnson, medical editor for ABC News.

The cultural and medical history of dementia and Alzheimer's disease by a leading psychiatrist and bioethicist who urges us to turn our focus from cure to care. Despite being a physician and a bioethicist, Tia Powell wasn't prepared to address the challenges she faced when her grandmother, and then her mother, were diagnosed with dementia--not to mention confronting the hard truth that her own odds aren't great. In the U.S., 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day; by the time a person reaches 85, their chances of having dementia approach 50 percent. And the truth is, there is no cure, and none coming soon, despite the perpetual promises by pharmaceutical companies that they are just one more expensive study away from a pill. Dr. Powell's goal is to move the conversation away from an exclusive focus on cure to a genuine appreciation of care--what we can do for those who have dementia, and how to keep life meaningful and even joyful. Reimagining Dementia is a moving combination of medicine and memoir, peeling back the untold history of dementia, from the story of Solomon Fuller, a black doctor whose research at the turn of the twentieth century anticipated important aspects of what we know about dementia today, to what has been gained and lost with the recent bonanza of funding for Alzheimer's at the expense of other forms of the disease. In demystifying dementia, Dr. Powell helps us understand it with clearer eyes, from the point of view of both physician and caregiver. Ultimately, she wants us all to know that dementia is not only about loss--it's also about the preservation of dignity and hope.

The revolutionary how-to guidebook that details ways to make it easier to provide dementia home care for people experiencing Alzheimer's or dementia. Alzheimer's home care is possible! Dementia with Dignity explains the groundbreaking new approach: the DAWN Method(R), designed so families and caregivers can provide home care. It outlines practical tools and techniques to help your loved one feel happier and more comfortable so that you can postpone the expense of long-term care. In this book you'll learn: -The basic facts about Alzheimer's and dementia, plus the skills lost and those not lost; -How to recognize and respond to the emotions caused by Alzheimer's or dementia, and avoid dementia-related behaviors; -Tools for working with an impaired person's moods and changing sense of reality; -Home care techniques for dealing with hygiene, safety, nutrition and exercise issues; -A greater understanding and appreciation of what someone with Alzheimer's or dementia is experiencing, and how your home care can increase home their emotional wellbeing. Wouldn't dementia home care be easier if you could get on the same page as your loved one? When we understand what someone experiencing Alzheimer's or dementia is going through, we can truly help them enjoy more peace and security at home. This book will help you recognize the unmet emotional needs that are causing problems, giving you a better understanding and ability to address them. The good news about dementia is that home care is possible. There are infinitely more happy times and experiences to be shared together. Be a part of caring for, honoring, and upholding the life of someone you love by helping them experience Alzheimer's or dementia with dignity. Judy Cornish is the author of The Dementia Handbook-How to Provide Dementia Care at Home, founder of the Dementia & Alzheimer's Wellbeing Network(R) (DAWN), and creator of the DAWN Method. She is also a geriatric care manager and elder law attorney, member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the American Society on Aging (ASA).

“The relationship between a mother and daughter is one of the most complicated and meaningful there is. Kimberly Williams-Paisley writes about her own with grace, truth, and beauty as she shares her journey back to her mother in the wake of a devastating illness.” —Brooke Shields Many know Kimberly Williams-Paisley as the bride in the popular Steve Martin remakes of the Father of the Bride movies, the calculating Peggy Kenter on Nashville, or the wife of country music artist, Brad Paisley. But behind the scenes, Kim was dealing with a tragic secret: her mother, Linda, was suffering from a rare form of dementia that slowly crippled her ability to talk, write and eventually recognize people in her own family. Where the Light Gets In tells the full story of Linda’s illness—called primary progressive aphasia—from her early-onset diagnosis at the age of 62 through the present day. Kim draws a candid picture of the ways her family reacted for better and worse, and how she, her father and two siblings educated themselves, tried to let go of shame and secrecy, made mistakes, and found unexpected humor and grace in the midst of suffering. Ultimately the bonds of family were strengthened, and Kim learned ways to love and accept the woman her mother became. With a moving foreword by actor and advocate Michael J. Fox, Where the Light Gets In is a heartwarming tribute to the often fragile yet unbreakable relationships we have with our mothers.

Dr Daniel Gibbs is one of 50 million people worldwide with an Alzheimer's disease diagnosis. Unlike most patients with Alzheimer's, however, Dr Gibbs worked as a neurologist for twenty-five years, caring for patients with the very disease now affecting him. Also unusual is that Dr Gibbs had begun to suspect he had Alzheimer's several years before any official diagnosis could be made. Forewarned by genetic testing showing he carried alleles that increased the risk of developing the disease, he noticed symptoms of mild cognitive impairment long before any tests would have alerted him. In this highly personal account, Dr Gibbs documents the effect his diagnosis has had on his life and explains his advocacy for improving early recognition of Alzheimer's. Weaving clinical knowledge from decades caring for dementia patients with his personal experience of the disease, this is an optimistic tale of one man's journey with early-stage Alzheimer's disease. Soon to be a documentary film on MTV/Paramount +.

From the award-winning journalist and author, a lyrical, raw and humane investigation of dementia that explores both the journeys of the people who live with the condition and those of their loved ones After a diagnosis of dementia, Nicci Gerrard’s father, John, continued to live life on his own terms, alongside the disease. But when an isolating hospital stay precipitated a dramatic turn for the worse, Gerrard, an award-winning journalist and author, recognized that it was not just the disease, but misguided protocol and harmful practices that cause such pain at the end of life. Gerrard was inspired to seek a better course for all who suffer because of the disease. The Last Ocean is Gerrard’s investigation into what dementia does to both the person who lives with the condition and to their caregivers. Dementia is now one of the leading causes of death in the West, and this necessary book will offer both comfort and a map to those walking through it. While she begins with her father’s long slip into forgetting, Gerrard expands to examine dementia writ large. Gerrard gives raw but literary shape both to the unimaginable loss of one’s own faculties, as well as to the pain of their loved ones. Her lens is unflinching, but Gerrard honors her subjects and finds the beauty and the humanity in their seemingly diminished states. In so doing, she examines the philosophy of what it means to have a self, as well as how we can offer dignity and peace to those who suffer with this terrible disease. Not only will it aid those walking with dementia patients, The Last Ocean will prompt all of us to think on the nature of a life well lived.

Caring for an aging parent can raise a host of tricky questions, but these conversation-starting scripts, plus expert advice, will help you and your parent find answers. Age-proofing an older relative’s living space, figuring out powers of attorney, spotting and dealing with signs of dementia, asking them to give up the car keys or consider assisted living . . . the first step toward tackling these concerns and more is an honest, informed discussion. Here are prompts and road maps for twenty-seven essential conversations—with your parent, other family members, and health care providers—including: Does my parent need help around the house? What kind of medical issues should we look out for? Do I really need to help my parents if they’re toxic? How can my family share the caregiving load? How to approach these topics is just as important as what needs to be said, so each chapter has tips for navigating complex emotions and finding shared ground when everyone has different ideas. You’ll get informed, have a productive discussion, and make a plan—so you can get back to making the most of your time with your parent.