Morthert, "Losing My Mind" by Thomas DeBaggio is an outstanding account by someone with EOAD. I too searched out all the books I could early on to try to understand how DH was feeling as he didn't talk about it at all in the early years although he has complete awareness and will sometimes talk about it now. Also on Joan's site main page I think there is a link to his interviews on NPR over the course of his life with AD including interviews with wife and grown son. Very well worth listening to.
marilyninMD - Bel Canto is my favorite but State of Wonder is a close second. I've read all of her books, beginning with The Patron Saint of Liars. I think I may re-visit Bel Canto. She's a wonderful writer. State of Wonder made me feel as though I was there in the Amazon Jungle with the characters in the book.
I am almost finished with Faithful Place by Tana French. It's by no means a "feel good" read. It is deep into family dysfunction, but excellent writing, and a gripping story. Only my eyes closing as I am reading in bed at night has kept me from reading it non stop.
Yesterday, I came across one of my all time favorite books in the ALF library. - The Once and Future King by T.H. White. Unfortunately, it's too old to have a Kindle edition, and the print in the paperback edition got much smaller since I read it 30 years ago (LOL), but I'm going to give it a try. It's the story of Merlin, King Arthur as a child, Lancelot, Gueneivive (sp?) all the way through to Arthur in old age.
I have several Alzheimer's and dementia books. Last night I read through all these posts and ordered 7 more that were recommended here (some fictional). Right now my attention span isn't all that great, but when these dementia & caregiver type books, I am interested in, and also can read when so inclined and not worry that it takes me a while to finish a book.
I enjoyed Jan's Story and currently reading A Curious Kind of Widow.
Thanks for this category and all the great suggestions. Later I will list the ones I already have (many which I've only browsed and use for reference).
I am offering some of my books on alzheimer's to anyone who wants them. Just email me and I will ship them to youl. 1. The Thirty Six Hour Day Third edition. (I have outgrown this book...I'm now reading the 57 hour day) 2. The Alzheimers Answer- Marwan Saggagh, MD (I still don't have any answers)\ 3. The Edge Effect - Eric Braverman, MD (I went over the edge long ago) 4. Coach Broyles Playbook for Alzheimer;s Careguvers (I am tired of playing football)
You can have one, all, or choose the one you want...just email me and they are yours.
Have any of you read "Turn of Mind," by Alice LaPlante? It is fiction, but it's told by an orthopedic surgeon suffering from Alzheimer's disease and a murder. It was very interesting and some of you might like it. It gives some insight into what goes on inside the mind of someone suffering from Alzheimer's.
I am reading Turn of the Mind right now, and am so impressed with it that I put the picture link to the book on my home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com- as a "recommended book of the week". I cannot believe how good it is.
In November the actress Diane Keaton has a biography coming out called "Then Again". From what I've read online she used a lot of information from the many journals her mother wrote before and during her 15 year struggle with Alzheimer's Disease.
I finally finished Turn of Mind. Maybe it was just me, but I found it really tedious to read??? I guess when I read now, I want something that I can "escape" with.
Vickie, I felt the same way about Turn of MInd. It seemed as if it took forever to finish. I also didn't really think it was so much about Alzheimer's as about a mystery of how the friend died.
I recently read and loved "The Paris Wife". This was the fictionalized story based on Ernest Hemingway's marriage to his first wife, Hadley Richardson. I found the writing absolutely beautiful and found it hard closing the book at night. This was the best book I've read all year, the second best was "State of Wonder."
After The Paris Wife, the next one was "The Glass House." Another good read. I am now enjoying "Cutting for Stone." I love good writing and want to be challenged when I read, and I still call it "escapism."
I have just read a book that I highly recommend. It is called When Color Fades by CJ Clark. Yes, it is about a woman who has Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease, BUT, that is the backdrop of the book. It is about how family secrets, however well intentioned, destroy all of the lives around them, never giving the family members a chance to know one another. It is about how short life can be, how precious relationships are, and how those relationships need to be nurtured honestly, because whether by a disease that erodes the mind, or a disease that erodes the body, your chances for love, understanding, and forgiveness are subject to limitations of time over which you have no control.
The author sent me a copy and asked me to read it and give her my honest opinion. I never expected it to be so well written with such depth. Besides being an artist and author, she also worked in an Alzheimer's unit in a nursing home, so the scenes that take place in that setting are gritty and true to life.
I just finished reading "A Widow's Story: A Memoir," by Joyce Carol Oates and wonder if any of you might be interested in reading what this woman (who is one of my favorite authors) felt when her husband died unexpectedly. She has always seemed to me, because of her writing, to be a very strong woman and to read how she suffered after he died is quite eye-opening, at least it was to me.
I finished 'Jan's Story' and really enjoyed it. I was surprised at how transparent Barry was concerning his inner feelings and what was going on with him. I also was surprised that with his money, he tried to do himself, then hired a live-in caregiver but he still had a lot of care to do. Yes, many of us can not afford to put our spouse in a nice facility like he has, but it still was not easy for him. And, when he described when the pain all came - my heart went out to him.
A couple of picks for all of you "recreational" readers. The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon, wonderfully written, you won't be able to put it down. Grace Point by Anne D LeClaire, another that sucks you in. She has others I have enjoyed as well. Entering Normal, also good, you fall in love with the characters.
By chance, I found this DVD at our local library. It's warm, has gentle humour, and stays in the mind long after it's finished: Pranzo di Ferragosto Mid-August lunch / an Archimede production in col
Here's a trailer for the DVD mentioned above, "Mid-August Lunch", English subtitles, Mimi, I think you'd like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=6W9JakdEZH4&NR=1
Bev--just saw your post from 10/11. You and I have the same taste in books--Haven't gotten to State of Wonder yet, but I LOVED Cutting for Stone and The Glass House was excellent. Sometimes I wander off into biographies--right now, Steve Jobs', but I have The Paris Wife waiting for me next! Recently finished The Invisible Bridge--it was great--have you read that?
Marilyn, I haven't read The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer, but I will. It sounds like something I would enjoy.
Joan and Marilyn, I'm afraid I made a mistake by typing in The Glass House instead of "The Glass Room." The Glass Room was written by Simon Mawer and it also takes place just before and during the Holocaust. Marilyn, if you have the name of the author of The Glass House, please let me know. Speaking of biographies or memoirs, I just finished Diane Keaton's "Then Again" and, because I loved the Paris Wife so much, was inspired to read "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway, having only read some of his short stories in the past. Waiting for me are "Extremely Close and Incredibly Loud" by Jonathan Safran and "22 Brittania Road" by Amanda Hodgkinson.
Joan--Sorry, I meant The Glass Room by Simon Mawer. Takes place in the Czech Republic. The Invisible Bridge takes place in Paris and Budapest. Several years ago we took a trip to Eastern Europe, Prague/Budapest/Vienna--so I really enjoyed those.
Bev--I tried to listen to Then Again on audio (DIane Keaton reading it), but it never finished it--didn't love it. Strange, because I love biographies. I have started Steve Jobs' bio now and it is absolutely fascinating. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is waiting for me too! If I like The Paris Wife, I will take your suggestion and read some Hemingway--never have.
Bev and Marilyn---I too loved the Paris Wife, and it inspired me to read A Moveable Feast, which is a collection of Hemingway's essays from his time in Paris.
I finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and absolutely loved it! It was so different from anything I've ever read. I'm glad I didn't get it on the Kindle because the pictures wouldn't be seen as well. I recommend it. I've been reading so many wonderful books this year. It's one of the bright spots in my life, the love of reading.
Texasmom - I'm glad you loved The Paris Wife. It's still my favorite this past year. I'll have to get A Moveable Feast. For Whom the Bell Tolls is waiting for me as well.
Just finished Jodi Picoult's Lone Wolf - her latest novel. I'm still reading the Hunger Games trilogy that I started last year -- in the middle of the third book. Also reading Kim Zimmer's autobiography.
I recently finished the Paris Wife as well and truly enjoyed it. Although it is a "fictionalized" version of Hemingway's first wife it is very close to the actual events. HBO has been showing the HBO movie "Hemingway and Gellhorn" which is a movie version of Hemingway's 3rd marriage to Martha Gellhorn. After seeing/readin the accounts of 2 of his 4 marriages, I ordered the book "Hemingway's Women", not available in a Kindle version, which covers his relationship with his mother 4 wives and various love interests. I truly enjoyed the book, even tho the chapter on Hadley Richardson was somewhat redundant after reading the Paris Wife. Gives good insight into Ernest Hemingway himself.
For those who like dog books, "The purpose of a dog" was good, but a tearjerker.
Hemingway's mother lived up the street from us in River Forest, IL, where the Hemingway family had been prominent forever. She was quite dramatic, wore floor length dresses in the daytime and had all the walls in her home covered with paintings she had done. Made quite a point of saying she never read Ernest's books, because he was just writing for money. He, in turn, referred to her as The Great American Bitch.
Yes, PrisR, she apparently was a bitch and Ernest blamed her for his father's suicide because she was controlling and manipulative. Funny that she was so scathing about his literary talent-it was money from the sale of his books and a portion of his second wife's inheritance that paid for her ifestyle until she died.
She actually sent him the gun his father had used to kill himself and added a message that maybe he'd like to use it on himself sometime. She was considered eccentric, but she went waaay beyond just eccentric, just plain evil.
Well, we know how that ended, don't we? The book suggests that Ernest was too hard on her because he lost his father, but who knows? Maybe a son no matter how egocentric and selfish knows his mother. Tragic no matter how you see it.
I read a really good Victorian mystery: "Gillespie and I" by Jane Harris. I'm now reading a book I've had for awhile but never got around to reading it until now: "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. A heart-rending story (really written for young adults but I think most adults would like it) about German children (not Jews) and how the Holocaust affected them.
My 18-year-old grandson and my adult nephew and most of their friends have read it and loved it. They're on the 6th book in the series (I hope you know it's a series). I haven't read it. Let us know what you think of it.
Well, I read the prologue to Game of Thrones. Not too impressed, but I figured with such glowing reviews, it could only get better. Next chapter started with a 6 year old all excited about attending his first beheading. All done for me. Maybe I'll try again another time, but for now, it's a closed book (pun intended).
LFL,
I LOVED A Dog's Purpose. A must for any animal lover, especially dog lover. I read in bed at night, and my pillow was soaked with tears. For those who are hesitant to read a tearjerker, it's not tragic at the end - very heartwarming. But honestly, I haven't cried that much over a dog story since I watched Homeward Bound, and that didn't have a sad ending either.