Summer Reading List

In the midst of summer, many of us reach for our favorite beach reads, looking forward to a few hours relaxing. If you’re looking to make the most of your summer reading list, here are a few recommendations that we and other care partners have found helpful.
 

Reading Recommendations

The Long Hello - the Other Side of Alzheimer's
The Long Hello explores the emotional rewards and challenges that Cathie Borrie experienced in caring for her mother, who was living with Alzheimer’s disease, for seven years. Between the two, a wondrously poetic dialogue develops, which the author further illuminates with childhood memories of her family, and her struggle to maintain a life outside her caregiving responsibilities. The Long Hello demonstrates how caregiving creates an opportunity to experience the change in a relationship that illness necessitates, one in which joy, meaning, and profound intimacy can flourish.
(Amazon)  (Bookshop)

Your Daughter, Your Advocate: A daughter’s account of caring for her mother against Lewy body dementia in a flawed care system
While trying to care for her mom, Bonnie found herself constantly at odds with care facilities driven by corporate policies, risk, liability, and profit. Bonnie chronicles her journey caregiving and advocating for her mother, Mary Alice, revealing the challenges of caregiving for a loved one with Lewy body dementia and the disappointments in a flawed caregiving system. She shares their story to promote awareness and understanding as well as illustrate simple, positive care approaches to provide a safe environment for Mary Alice.

These stories will make you smile, laugh, angry, cry, and feel better prepared. The lessons learned from their experiences are enlightening. Most importantly, you will relate to these situations and realize you are not alone on this journey. If you are tired, frustrated, or feeling guilty or hopeless while caring for a loved one, this book is for you.
(Amazon) 

Essential Strategies for the Dementia Caregiver: Learning to PACE Yourself
A caregiver’s roadmap that delivers deep insights and practical solutions. This book offers a fresh and practical approach to the challenges faced by wives, husbands, and adult children who care for loved ones with dementia. Using the 4 D’s of Dementia Care – detach, document, diffuse, distract – caregivers can find solutions for behaviors ranging from shadowing to wandering to medication refusal. The PACE model emphasizes the importance of prioritizing the caregiver’s well-being while navigating the dementia journey.
(Amazon)

 Alzheimer & Dementia Caregiver Journal - Caregiver's Companion
The Alzheimer & Dementia Caregiver Journal - Caregiver's Companion is a must-have resource for family, friends, and dedicated caregivers supporting individuals with Alzheimer's, Dementia, and other long-term diseases. This comprehensive journal is meticulously crafted to alleviate stress and enhance the caregiving journey. Inside this invaluable journal, you'll discover a treasure trove of essential tools and insights. From practical tips to dedicated logs, it covers everything you need to streamline the caregiving process. Keep track of medications, maintain a detailed physical record, note important doctor appointments, monitor daily food and water consumptions, record behavioral patterns, address health concerns, and so much more.
(Amazon) 

When Love Meets Dementia: Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) and the Family
Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) is now recognized as one of the most common forms of dementia in individuals under age 65, second only to Alzheimer's. Shedding light on a little known brain disease, this volume examines FTD from a few angles, beginning with the author's insightful memoir of her husband's struggle with FTD and its impact on their family.
(Amazon) 

Dancing with Lewy: A Father - Daughter Dance, before and after Lewy Body Dementia Came to Live with Us
Nancy Poland’s memoir, Dancing with Lewy, gives hope to caregivers tending to a loved one with a debilitating illness. Lee was born into a large farming family just before the Great Depression. He was a World War II Veteran, self-made businessman, artist, poet, and a man who would give a stranger his last nickel. Lee’s third daughter, Nancy, is practical, organized, pragmatic, writer, and equaling her father in determination. Nancy was determined to take the helm when Lee’s mind began “dancing” with Lewy body dementia even though he resolved to remain independent while his mind slipped away. 

This memoir is written through Nancy’s eyes. Woven throughout Dancing with Lewy is original poetry written by Lee which gives readers a glimpse into his outlook to life. The memoir contains two parts. Part I tells the story of Lee’s young life, Nancy’s growing up years with her dad, and the toll dementia took on their family. Part II of Dancing with Lewy shares lessons learned and provides hope for caregivers tending to their loved one(s) who have a debilitating illness.
(Amazon) (Bookshop)

Children's Books

Have a child in your life that is impacted by a loved one's dementia? Check out our recommendations for children's books as well.

Big Bear, Little Bear and Dementia
Big Bear and Little Bear are as close as close can be, but Little Bear feels confused and down when Big Bear struggles to do the things that Big Bears do. By seeking help from Doctor Bear, we learn that Big Bear is living with dementia. Join the bears as they discover that the loves, laughs and memories they share will always be stored safely inside Big Bears heart. Dementia affects people from all walks of life, and so this beautifully written book is inclusive for all.
(Amazon) 

Unmasking Grandpa: A Journey Through Vascular Dementia
Grandpa has always inspired Tony to do well and to enjoy basketball. When Grandpa is diagnosed with vascular dementia and starts acting a little differently, Tony isn't really sure how to feel or act. Loving someone who has changed can be hard, but by learning more about who his grandpa really is, Tony discovers that Grandpa is still an amazing person who deserves respect and love.
(Amazon) (Bookshop)

Looking for more to read? Check out last year's reading recommendations. We also have a resource lending library in the lobby of our Fairfax location. Feel free to browse and borrow!