Fictions Of Dementia

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice An essential book for those coping with Alzheimer’s and other cognitive disorders that “reframe[s] our understanding of dementia with sensitivity and accuracy . . . to grant better futures to our loved ones and ourselves” (The New York Times). An estimated fifty million people in the world suffer from dementia. Diseases such as Alzheimer's erase parts of one's memory but are also often said to erase the self. People don't simply die from such diseases; they are imagined, in the clichés of our era, as vanishing in plain sight, fading away, or enduring a long goodbye. In On Vanishing, Lynn Casteel Harper, a Baptist minister and nursing home chaplain, investigates the myths and metaphors surrounding dementia and aging, addressing not only the indignities caused by the condition but also by the rhetoric surrounding it. Harper asks essential questions about the nature of our outsized fear of dementia, the stigma this fear may create, and what it might mean for us all to try to “vanish well.” Weaving together personal stories with theology, history, philosophy, literature, and science, Harper confronts our elemental fears of disappearance and death, drawing on her own experiences with people with dementia both in the American healthcare system and within her own family. In the course of unpacking her own stories and encounters—of leading a prayer group on a dementia unit; of meeting individuals dismissed as “already gone” and finding them still possessed of complex, vital inner lives; of witnessing her grandfather’s final years with Alzheimer’s and discovering her own heightened genetic risk of succumbing to the disease—Harper engages in an exploration of dementia that is unlike anything written before on the subject. A rich and startling work of nonfiction, On Vanishing reveals cognitive change as it truly is, an essential aspect of what it means to be mortal.

Taking its cues from both classical and post-classical narratologies, this study explores both forms and functions of the representation of dementia in Anglophone fictions. Initially, dementia is conceptualised as a narrative-epistemological paradox: The more those affected know what it is like to have dementia, the less they can tell about it. Narrative fiction is the only discourse that provides an imaginative glimpse at the subjective experience of dementia in language. The narratological modelling of four ‘narrative modes’ elaborates how the paradox becomes productive in fiction: Depending on the narrative perspective taken, but also on the type of narration, the technique for representing consciousness and the epistemic strategy of narrating dementia, the respective narrative modes come with different prerequisites and possibilities for narrating dementia. The analysis of four contemporary Anglophone dementia fictions based on the developed model reveals their potential functions: Fiction allows readers to learn about the challenges of dementia, grants them perspective-taking, it trains cognitive flexibility, and explores the meaning of memory, knowledge, narrative and imagination, and thus also offers trajectories of a cultural coping with dementia.

Taking its cues from both classical and post-classical narratologies, this study explores both forms and functions of the representation of dementia in Anglophone fictions. Initially, dementia is conceptualised as a narrative-epistemological paradox: The more those affected know what it is like to have dementia, the less they can tell about it. Narrative fiction is the only discourse that provides an imaginative glimpse at the subjective experience of dementia in language. The narratological modelling of four ‘narrative modes’ elaborates how the paradox becomes productive in fiction: Depending on the narrative perspective taken, but also on the type of narration, the technique for representing consciousness and the epistemic strategy of narrating dementia, the respective narrative modes come with different prerequisites and possibilities for narrating dementia. The analysis of four contemporary Anglophone dementia fictions based on the developed model reveals their potential functions: Fiction allows readers to learn about the challenges of dementia, grants them perspective-taking, it trains cognitive flexibility, and explores the meaning of memory, knowledge, narrative and imagination, and thus also offers trajectories of a cultural coping with dementia.

A Story of a Marriage Through Dementia and Beyond is the extraordinary, unflinching account from sociologist Laurel Richardson of her love and caregiving through the last period of her husband Ernest Lockridge's life - from his transient amnesia to his death from Lewy Body Dementia. Focusing on the lived experience of the caregiver through the loved one’s journey from mild cognitive impairment to death, the book gives the reader the experience of what the medical diagnoses mean and what has led up to the loss. It shows the complex, nuanced lives of a couple both living with the worst effects of a disease like Lewy Body Dementia, while maintaining, sometimes with hope and laughter, their loving connection nourished through a 40-year marriage. Dementia is a ‘silver tsunami’ - the third leading cause of death amongst senior populations. Richardson’s beautifully written book gives on-the-ground emotional support to those already in service as caregivers and helps prepare others for such service. Hospices, book clubs, and medical and allied professionals will find this book extraordinarily valuable. Weaving in autoethnographic and sociological methods and scholarship, as well as a list of reading and further resources for caregivers and scholars, this book will also appeal to courses in a wide range of disciplines and fields, including health communication, nursing and allied health, courses covering death and dying, end-of-life, and illness care, and, of course, scholars pursuing autoethnography, creative non-fiction, and qualitative methods.

Buy your loved one a simplified but enjoyable story, specially written for people with Dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or rehabilitating after a Stroke. Perfect for anyone facing challenges with memory or concentration but who still wants to be treated as an adult. Presented as 'normal' 6x9 inch paperback book with a modern cover that looks similar to those used on James Patterson novels. Share the experience as someone rediscovers the joy of visiting their local library after many years. Helped by a young neighbor they find more than a book in this rewarding story. There is no mention of dementia anywhere on the cover or inside the book, so no indication to the reader that this is in anyway a 'special needs' book. Yet inside is where the magic happens. Over 6 chapters our central character explores their day. They meet and talk to people and make simple discoveries. An enjoyable and relevant story is told. Each chapter starts with a photograph that is relevant to the story and gives the reader with a helpful visual prompt. Short paragraphs are used with easy to read 16 point large print. This is helps the the reader avoid struggling with long paragraphs and stops them feeling overwhelmed by long chapters or confusing words. Jamie Stonebridge books are written in collaboration with people that have direct, positive experience of working with loved ones and patients that have dementia. They understand the enjoyment that can be gained from the simplicity of everyday events and the calming effect of a satisfying ending. The aim is always the same: to produce books that bring a smile. Real and relevant books give pride and confidence to people with Dementia. Avoid the embarrassment of using children's books and choose Senior Fiction instead. It is people like you that keep reading alive at all stages in a person's life. We can all live through books. Reading alone or with others is a wonderful thing. Choose a a Jamie Stonebridge book that brings joy and happiness. If you find it helps your loved one, please let others know by writing a review.

This book is a love story and a labor of love. It is an anthology of stories by 36 authors, each about a relative they have known and loved before that person was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or another type of dementia. First and foremost, these stories are about human beings. They are about moms, dads, attorneys, teachers, sailors, dreamers, doers, and lovers. They are about people like you and me; people with hopes and plans for the future who lived, or are still living, a life worth remembering. I hope what you read in these pages touches your life.

Buy your loved one a simplified but enjoyable story, specially written for people with Dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or rehabilitating after a Stroke. Perfect for anyone facing challenges with memory or concentration but who still wants to be treated as an adult. Presented as 'normal' 6x9 inch paperback book with a modern cover that looks similar to those used on James Patterson novels. What can be more perfect than enjoying a summer's day at the beach? Enjoy the sunlight on your face, the feeling of soft sand under your toes and the gentle surf in this story full of happy memories and experiences. There is no mention of dementia anywhere on the cover or inside the book, so no indication to the reader that this is in anyway a 'special needs' book. Yet inside is where the magic happens. Over 6 chapters our central character explores their day. They meet and talk to people and make simple discoveries. An enjoyable and relevant story is told. Each chapter starts with a photograph that is relevant to the story and gives the reader with a helpful visual prompt. Short paragraphs are used with easy to read 16 point large print. This is helps the the reader avoid struggling with long paragraphs and stops them feeling overwhelmed by long chapters or confusing words. Jamie Stonebridge books are written in collaboration with people that have direct, positive experience of working with loved ones and patients that have dementia. They understand the enjoyment that can be gained from the simplicity of everyday events and the calming effect of a satisfying ending. The aim is always the same: to produce books that bring a smile. Real and relevant books give pride and confidence to people with Dementia. Avoid the embarrassment of using Childrens books and choose Senior Fiction instead. It is people like you that keep reading alive at all stages in a person's life. We can all live through books. Reading alone or with others is a wonderful thing. Choose a a Jamie Stonebridge book that brings joy and happiness. If you find it helps your loved one, please let others know by writing a review.

Dementia is an urgent global concern, often termed a widespread ‘problem’, ‘tragedy’ or ‘burden’ and a subject best addressed by health and social policy and practice. However, creative writers can offer powerful and imaginative insights into the experience of dementia across cultures and over time. This cross-disciplinary volume explores how engaging with dementia through its myriad literary representations can help to deepen and humanise attitudes to people living with the condition. Offering and interrogating a wide array of perspectives about how dementia might be ‘imagined’, this book allows us to see how different ways of being can inflect one another. By drawing on the ‘lived’ experience of the individual unique person and their loved ones, literature can contribute to a deeper and more compassionate and more liberating attitude to a phenomenon that is both natural and unnatural. Novels, plays and stories reveal a rich panoply of responses ranging from the tragic to the comic, allowing us to understand that people with dementia often offer us models of humour, courage and resilience, and carers can also embody a range of responses from rigidity to compassion. Dementia and Literature problematises the subject of dementia, encouraging us all to question our own hegemonies critically and creatively. Drawing on literary studies, cultural studies, education, clinical psychology, psychiatry, nursing and gerontology, this book is a fascinating contribution to the emerging area of the medical and health humanities. The book will be of interest to those living with dementia and their caregivers as well as to the academic community and policy makers.