The MADC team offers the following book recommendations.
Alzheimer’s from the Inside Out
by Richard Taylor, PhD (2006)
The author, a former psychologist, shares his account of how his life was affected by a dementia diagnosis at age 61.
The Brain is a Boundary: A Journey in Poems to the Borderlines of Lewy Body Dementia
by Alexander Dreier (2016)
This unique book explores the experience of the boundaries in consciousness in Lewy Body Dementia through poetry.
Dancing with Dementia: My Story of Living Positively with Dementia
by Christine Bryden (2005)
Christine Bryden was a top civil servant and single mother of three children when she was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 46. This book is a vivid account of the author's experiences of living with dementia, exploring the effects of memory problems, loss of independence, difficulties in communication and the exhaustion of coping with simple tasks. She describes how, with the support of her husband, Paul, she continues to lead an active life and explains how professionals and carers can help.
Dementia Beyond Disease: Enhancing Well-Being
by G. Allen Power, MD (2014)
This book reframes the care and support of people living with dementia. It presents a strengths-based approach that focuses on enhancing seven domains of well-being for individuals in all living environments.
An Evolution of Love: Life and Love with Frontotemporal Dementia
by Michelle Stafford and Marie Sykes (2011)
Robert J. Sykes, Jr. (Bob) was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia in December 2003 at the age of 47. This is a story of loss, but it is also a story of love and devotion in the face of devastating illness. This book will support and inspire others coping with dementia and other irreversible illnesses.
Green Nails and Other Acts of Rebellion: Life After Loss
by Elaine Soloway (2014)
Early in 2009, after more than a decade of marriage, Elaine Soloway's husband, Tommy, began to change. Ultimately, Tommy’s doctors discovered that he had frontotemporal degeneration—a diagnosis that explained Tommy’s baffling symptoms and transformed Soloway from irritated wife to unflappable, devoted caregiver in one fell swoop. In this book, Soloway documents Tommy’s disease progression, shedding light on the day-to-day realities of those who assume the caregiver role in a relationship with uncompromising honesty and wry humor.
Lewy Body Dementia: Causes, Tests, and Treatment Options
by Adam Wainwright (2012)
This book is an easy-to-understand guide that can be applied to the lives of those affected by LBD, whether they are friends or family.
Living with Lewy Body Dementia: One Caregiver’s Personal, In-depth Experience
by Judy Towne Jennings (2012)
This book is authored by a personal caregiver and professional physical therapist with many years of experience in movement disorders.
Living With Lewy's: Empowering Today's Dementia Caregiver—A Revolutionary New Survival Guide For All Caregivers
by Amy J. Throop and Gerald S. Throop (2011)
This book is written by a husband-and-wife team who cared for a parent with LBD. It offers many practical suggestions for day-to-day living with LBD.
Living with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Guide to Maximizing Brain Health and Reducing Risk of Dementia
by Nicole D. Anderson, Kelly J. Murphy, & Angela K. Troyer (2012)
This book provides reliable information on the nature of this disorder, how it may affect people, and what can be done about it.
Living Your Best with Early-Stage Alzheimer’s: An Essential Guide
by Lisa Snyder, MSW, LCSW (2010)
This book offers strategies for managing memory loss and may be very helpful for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Losing My Mind: An Intimate Look at Life with Alzheimer’s
by Thomas DeBaggio (2003)
This book is DeBaggio's extraordinary account of his early onset Alzheimer's and is a testament to the splendor of memory and a triumphant celebration of the human spirit.
Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early Alzheimer’s Disease: Detection and Diagnosis
by Jeffrey M. Burns and John C. Morris (2008)
This book, while written for clinicians, describes the cognitive changes associated with age, the earliest detectable stages of Alzheimer’s, and the relationship of these conditions to MCI.
My Journey into Alzheimer's Disease
by Robert Davis (1994)
Written by a man who remained a ministering servant to the end, using his last lucid thoughts to share with us his walk of faith into Alzheimer's disease. Reverend Robert Davis gives hope to others.
On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer's
by Greg O'Brien (2014)
Greg O’Brien, an award-winning investigative reporter, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's and decided to tackle the disease by writing frankly about the journey. This is a book about living with Alzheimer’s, not dying with it. It is a book about hope, faith, and humor—a prescription far more powerful than today's conventional medication to fight this disease.
Sundown Dementia, Vascular Dementia, and Lewy Body Dementia Explained: Stages, Signs, Prognosis, Diagnosis, Treatments, Progression, and Care
by Lyndsay Leatherdale (2013)
Ten Thousand Joys & Ten Thousand Sorrows: A Couple’s Journey Through Alzheimer’s
by Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle (2010)
In this profound and courageous memoir, Hoblitzelle describes how her husband Hob’s Alzheimer's diagnosis at the age of 72 challenged them to live the spiritual teachings they had embraced during their life together. When they first heard the diagnosis, Olivia and Hob’s initial reaction was to cling desperately to the life they had had, but they learned to greet the last phase of Hob's life consciously and lovingly.
The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer's Disease, Other Dementias, and Memory Loss
by Nancy L. Mace, MA, and Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH (2017, 6th Edition)
This is a great reference book for caregivers, but it should not be read cover-to-cover.
Activities for the Family Caregiver: Vascular Dementia: How To Engage / How To Live
by Scott Silknitter, Alisa Tagg, and Robert Brennan (2015)
The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer’s Care
by Virginia Bell, MSW, & David Troxel, MPH (2002)
This book offers concrete situations with effective problem-solving strategies.
A Caregiver’s Guide to Lewy Body Dementia
by Helen Buell Whitworth, MS, BSN, and James Whitworth (2008)
This book is written in everyday language and filled with personal examples that relate to the readers’ own experiences. It provides an accurate, detailed view of the disease in easy-to-understand terms.
Caregiving: The Spiritual Journey of Love, Loss, and Renewal
by Beth Witrogen McLeod (2000)
"A poignant, wise, and in-the-trenches view of caregiving that is both practical and spiritual, especially of value to midlife adults." —Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., author of Goddesses in Everywoman and Close to the Bone
Caring for a Loved One with Dementia: A Mindfulness-Based Guide for Reducing Stress and Making the Best of Your Journey Together
by Marguerite Manteau-Rao, LCSW (2016)
The Comfort of Home: A Complete Guide for Caregivers
by Maria M Meyer with Paula Derr (2007)
This book is a good, practical guide that offers caregiving options and discusses the financial and legal decisions you may encounter.
Coping with Behavior Change in Dementia: A Family Caregiver’s Guide
by Beth Spencer and Laurie White (rev. 2015)
This handbook is intended to help families understand possible causes of common behavior changes and learn to respond more effectively to behaviors. It is the author’s firm belief that many of the most challenging behaviors may be minimized when caregivers learn how to identify root causes and try strategies that are known to help some people with dementia much of the time. The book includes strategies for the following: challenges with dressing, eating, bathing, toileting, and mouth care; agitation, anxiety, anger and aggression; sleep and sundowning; wanting to go home; wandering, walking or pacing; repetitive behaviors; hallucinations, delusions and paranoia; physical intimacy and sexual behavior. There are also sections about communication and problem-solving, a glossary and an extensive list of other resources. Each behavior includes case examples from families as well as suggestions of ways to phrase things.
Creating Moments of Joy Along the Alzheimer's Journey: A Guide for Families and Caregivers
by Jolene Brackey (2016, 5th Edition)
The result of the author’s vision for a world that will soon look beyond the challenges of dementia, this book seeks to redirect energy toward creating moments of joy. "We are not able to create a perfectly wonderful day for those who have dementia, but it is absolutely attainable to create perfectly wonderful moments." The book is divided into five sections, with each section including smaller steps. There is room for journaling thoughts, ideas and solutions to nurture the goal of creating moments of joy for the person with dementia and the caregiver.
Dignifying Dementia: A Caregiver’s Struggle
by Elizabeth Tierney (2011)
Dignifying Dementia is both a love story and an attempt to reach out to others who are living through or who will live through a similar tragedy. It is written in the hope that others might benefit from what the author learned as the caregiver of a person with Lewy Body dementia.
Inside Alzheimer’s: How to Hear and Honor Connections with a Person who has Dementia
by Nancy D. Pearce (2011)
This book shares six basic principles of connection that will help care partners create moments of connection with people with dementia, regardless of how advanced the dementia, and co-create a more supportive community of care.
Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s: A Groundbreaking Approach for Everyone Dealing with the Disease
by Joanne Koenig Coste (2004)
In a friendly, knowledgeable style, the author offers five tenets in what she calls the "habilitation" approach to caring for people with progressive dementia.
Living with Lewy Body Dementia: One Caregiver’s Personal, In-depth Experience
by Judy Towne Jennings (2012)
This book is authored by a personal caregiver and professional physical therapist with many years of experience in movement disorders.
Living With Lewy's: Empowering Today's Dementia Caregiver—A Revolutionary New Survival Guide For All Caregivers
by Amy J. Throop and Gerald S. Throop (2011)
This book is written by a husband-and-wife team who cared for a parent with LBD. It offers many practical suggestions for day-to-day living with LBD.
A Pocket Guide for the Alzheimer’s Caregiver
by DC Potts and E Woodward Potts (2011)
This book offers practical advice on some of the most common problems that may arise when providing care for someone with Alzheimer’s. It also dispels the sense of hopelessness that families may feel when trying to enhance the quality of life for their loved one with the disease.
Ten Thousand Joys & Ten Thousand Sorrows: A Couple’s Journey Through Alzheimer’s
by Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle (2010)
In this profound and courageous memoir, Hoblitzelle describes how her husband Hob’s Alzheimer's diagnosis at the age of 72 challenged them to live the spiritual teachings they had embraced during their life together. When they first heard the diagnosis, Olivia and Hob’s initial reaction was to cling desperately to the life they had had, but they learned to greet the last phase of Hob's life consciously and lovingly.
What If It's Not Alzheimer's? A Caregiver's Guide to Dementia
edited by Gary Radin and Lisa Radin (2014)
The first comprehensive guide deals with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), one of the largest groups of non-Alzheimer's dementias.
Your Name is Hughes Hannibal Shanks: A Caregiver’s Guide to Alzheimer’s
by Lela Knox Shanks (2005)
This book is a personal account of one woman’s journey in caring for her husband, in their home. The author describes her initial denial, her discovery of coping skills, her eventual acceptance of his illness, and her ultimate recognition that the key to successful caregiving lies in never losing sight of the person’s humanness. The book outlines twenty coping and survival strategies to guide caregivers to untapped inner resources and shows caregiving’s intangible rewards of increased self-respect and self-knowledge.
The Memory Box
by Mary Bahr (1992)
When Gramps realizes he has Alzheimer’s disease, he starts a memory box with his grandson, Zach, to keep memories of all the times they have shared.
Singing with Momma Lou
by Linda Jacobs Altman (2002)
Nine-year-old Tamika Jordan dreads visiting her grandmother at the nursing home. Momma Lou has Alzheimer’s and always forgets who Tamika is. But when Tamika’s father shows her Momma Lou’s scrapbooks, the young girl gets the idea of jogging Momma Lou’s memory. During each visit, she shows her grandmother memorabilia from the scrapbook: Momma Lou dressing Tamika like an angel for a Christmas pageant, marching in a civil rights demonstration, and singing “We Shall Overcome” with other jailed protesters. One day, Momma Lou recognizes a newspaper clipping and leads everybody in a celebration of song.
Still My Grandma
by Véronique Van den Abeele (2007)
The realities of Alzheimer’s disease are gently introduced in this story for young readers about the special relationship between a girl and her grandmother. Camille and Grandma have sleepovers, bake cupcakes, giggle at old photographs, and go shopping together. But one day, Grandma forgets Camille’s name. Then she can’t remember where to put her shoes. Camille learns that her grandma has Alzheimer’s disease, which is what makes her do strange things. And even though Grandma has to move out of her house and rely on nurses to care for her, Camille finds creative ways to maintain their friendship. Sensitive illustrations emphasize the story’s theme of unconditional love.
What’s Happening to Grandpa?
by Maria Shriver (2004)
Kate has always adored her grandpa’s storytelling – but lately, he’s been repeating the same stories again and again. One day, he even forgets Kate’s name. Her mother’s patient explanations opened Kate’s eyes to what so many of the elderly must confront: Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of memory loss. Determined to support her grandfather, Kate explores ways to help him – and herself – cope by creating a photo album of their times together, memories that will remain in their hearts forever.
Why Did Grandma Put Her Underwear in the Refrigerator?
by Max Wallack and Carolyn Given (2013)
Authors Max Wallack and Carolyn Given believe that no child is too young to learn about Alzheimer’s disease or how to participate in providing safe care for their loved one. Why Did Grandma Put Her Underwear in the Refrigerator? is a sensitive, light-hearted children’s story that seamlessly provides its young readers with a toolbox to help them overcome their fears and frustrations. It shares easy-to-understand explanations of what happens inside the brains of adults with Alzheimer’s and how to cope with changes in their grandparents.
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
by Mem Fox (1985)
A young boy, Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge, lives next door to a nursing home in which several of his elder friends reside. His favorite friend is Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper because she has four names, just as he does. Wilfred discovers that Miss Nancy, who is 96, has "lost" her memory. Undaunted, Wilfred sets out to "find" Miss Nancy's memory for her.