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      Inside the Dementia
     Epidemic: A Daughter's
     Memoir

     
     
      On Wall Street Journal best seller
      list (May 1, 2015)
     


    One     of Alzheimers.net's 2014 Top Alzheimer's Books for Caregivers

    Winner of the Memoir category of the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

    Winner of a Silver Medal in the Health/Medical category of the 2013 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards (and finalist in the Memoir category)

    Finalist, 2013 Eric Hoffer Book Award for Excellence in Publishing

    Winner of an Honorable Mention in the Life Stories category of the 20th Annual Writer’s Digest Book Awards 

    Finalist, 2013 Indie Excellence Book Awards

    Finalist, 2013 Santa Fe Writer's Project Literary Awards Program, Non-fiction category

     

       

     

     

    Inside the Dementia Epidemic: A Daughter's Memoir shares the lessons I learned over 8 years of caregiving at home and in a range of dementia care facilities. I describe not only what I learned about navigating the system, but how I learned to see Alzheimer's disease differently—not as a "long good-bye," as it's often called, but as a "long hello." Through caregiving, my challenging relationship with my mother was transformed, and I learned to enjoy and nurture her spirit through the last stages of dementia.

    Appendixes share facts about dementia that I wish I had known years ago, such as how to get a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease; what medications are approved to lessen the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease; lesser-known risk factors for dementia; and possible antidotes. I include my favorite resources for caregivers, my source notes, and an index.

    Inside the Dementia Epidemic: A Daughter's Memoir is available in paperback and hardcover, as an e-book for Apple devices, the Nook, and Kindle, and on Kobo.

    Reviews and Testimonials

    Order the Book

    ______________________________________________________

    PHOTOS:

    The photo at the very top of this page is of my mother, Judy, in 2010, smiling up at Suzanne, a massage therapist I hired who specializes in bodywork for elders.  Suzanne massaged her hands, arms, upper back and legs, talked to her, and played music for her.  [photo by Jason Kates van Staveren]

    Right: My mother at her 75th birthday party in 2007, three years after she could no longer live alone. A few days after this picture was taken she fell, fractured her pelvis and needed more care than her assisted living facility could provide. I had to quickly research alternatives.









    In 1996, Judy and her grandson, Andrew, age 1, on the shale beach outside the cottage on the lake in Upstate New York where she lived by herself for 25 years. It's his first visit, and she's showing him the "big lake water" and how to draw on the flat rocks with pencil-shaped pieces of shale. Her worrisome behavior starts around this time, but as her daughter I don't realize what is going on until much, much later.

    Above: My mother, age 74, and I at the cottage in 2006 with her old miniature Schnauzer, Trinka. I can see the stress of those early caregiving years in my face and in my extra weight. Little did I know how much I would learn over the coming years.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Above: Judy, age 79, and me in early 2012 at the nursing home Judy moved into in 2010. Mom lived with advanced Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia until she passed away in late 2012, but until the end she often shared her lovely smile. 

     

    Join the fight to stop Alzheimer's by 2020:

        

     

    For caregiver support and resources, visit the Caregiver Action Network. (Membership is free if you are a current family caregiver):

                        

        The Purple Angel--a symbol of hope and dementia awareness

    Tuesday
    Mar112014

    Driving and Early-stage Dementia: 5 Important Questions to Ask

    DateTuesday, March 11, 2014 at 05:50PM

    Nine years ago, when my mother, Judy, was living with the early stages of dementia, I witnessed her getting lost on a familiar route in her small town. We were on our way to meet with her doctor of 25 years, and I was driving behind her because she was going to do some errands on her own afterwards. Not only did Mom drive around the block a couple of times looking for her doctor's office, when she pulled to the side of the road she drove the car into a ditch. I had to pull her out and call a tow truck.

    Even though I knew Mom was worried about her memory, part of me denied that she really needed to stop driving. Denial about this issue can be very strong in many caregivers, and I was no exception.  In our case, Mom agreed to stop driving only because she was moving in with me and she knew she would never find her way around on the unfamiliar streets of my city. Many caregivers, however, find themselves in a prolonged battle with their loved ones around this issue.

    In an article for caregivers.com today I offer

    •  a road map of 5 questions that can help you decide whether or not your loved one should drop driving, and
    • suggestions about how you can talk to them about it and include them in the decision, if possible, as your "care partner."  

    Read more here:  "5 Crucial Signs that a Person Should Stop Driving"

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