The Monster We Defied: A Son’s Alzheimer’s Recital
Have you ever thought of how you would react or what you would do if your loved one were faced with a catastrophic, incurable illness? This journal of a descent into Alzheimer’s disease is a road map for those who are facing such shattering news. Dr. Robert Page, author of the “Citizen at Large: Speaking Freely and Other Rights of Passage in the Age of Clinton,” (National Archives) has crafted a ground-breaking memoir portraying in real time the impact of his mother’s dementia diagnosis and the caregiving journey that followed. The account reveals how he helped her to navigate the turbulent course of this bewildering disease. It includes actual transcripts of recorded conversations Dr. Page carries on with his mother throughout her decline. Their varied dialogues make their experiences immediate and absorbing.
Witness how this practicing psychologist and loving son introduces a vast array of issues and situations encountered by every dementia patient and caregiver and how he connects with his mother to meet the challenges at each stage in the progression of the disease. Learn how he uses his skills and experience communicating with his patients to preserve his relationship with a feisty, witty mother who fights hard to maintain her indomitable spirit. In the process, mother and son become victors over the disease, not just helpless victims.
Renew your faith in the healing power of humor, persistence, affirmation, acceptance and physical touch. Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t have to be a catastrophe one simply survives but instead an opportunity that can be a transformative source of renewal. Learn helpful and practical ideas on how to talk to and to aid the Alzheimer’s patient on their difficult path. You will see how this skilled psychologist raises continuing issues that talk up to his mother, not down to her as if she were a helpless child who completely lost her bearings. He sticks with and engages her for the duration of the disease and in the process, he becomes more fortified in waging this physically and emotionally strenuous battle.
You will come away from this tragic but life-affirming journey with renewed hope and a deeper inspiration to defy and conquer the monster you might one day have to face yourself.
Have you ever thought of how you would react or what you would do if your loved one were faced with a catastrophic, incurable illness? This journal of a descent into Alzheimer’s disease is a road map for those who are facing such shattering news. Dr. Robert Page, author of the “Citizen at Large: Speaking Freely and Other Rights of Passage in the Age of Clinton,” (National Archives) has crafted a ground-breaking memoir portraying in real time the impact of his mother’s dementia diagnosis and the caregiving journey that followed. The account reveals how he helped her to navigate the turbulent course of this bewildering disease. It includes actual transcripts of recorded conversations Dr. Page carries on with his mother throughout her decline. Their varied dialogues make their experiences immediate and absorbing.
Witness how this practicing psychologist and loving son introduces a vast array of issues and situations encountered by every dementia patient and caregiver and how he connects with his mother to meet the challenges at each stage in the progression of the disease. Learn how he uses his skills and experience communicating with his patients to preserve his relationship with a feisty, witty mother who fights hard to maintain her indomitable spirit. In the process, mother and son become victors over the disease, not just helpless victims.
Renew your faith in the healing power of humor, persistence, affirmation, acceptance and physical touch. Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t have to be a catastrophe one simply survives but instead an opportunity that can be a transformative source of renewal. Learn helpful and practical ideas on how to talk to and to aid the Alzheimer’s patient on their difficult path. You will see how this skilled psychologist raises continuing issues that talk up to his mother, not down to her as if she were a helpless child who completely lost her bearings. He sticks with and engages her for the duration of the disease and in the process, he becomes more fortified in waging this physically and emotionally strenuous battle.
You will come away from this tragic but life-affirming journey with renewed hope and a deeper inspiration to defy and conquer the monster you might one day have to face yourself.
