Greetings fellow book bloggers. As I’ve continued with the story Alice has now been diagnosed with Early Onset Dementia. Alice and her family are absolutely surprised by the diagnosis, as all of her symptoms could have been explained by stress, overworking and a busy travel agenda as she used to speak all over the world about the neuroscience of language. Its really neat how the author describes what’s going on inside her head while the doctor and her husband are talking and how she is viewing the situation. She understands fully what the diagnosis is and knows what the outcome is going to be. As she starts to make plans on how to manage her disease such as leaving herself notes all over the house and setting reminders in her cell phone to stay capable as long as possible, she has made the decision to read the books she had always wanted to and focus more on the things she wants to experience before she can’t anymore. Her husband has been trying to cope and help but as her symptoms progress you can feel him growing distant and impatient with her.
Her husband is having a hard time accepting the diagnosis and is almost in denial about it until he comes home and the kitchen cupboard and drawers torn apart and Alice is frantically searching for her cell phone that has become a security for her. The husband finds the cell phone in the freezer and the reality sets in. This is a situation that unfortunately happens in real life. Often the focus is on the person with Dementia and their needs but the family member’s who care for them are also going through it too. I’m curious to see how the husband deals with her symptoms as they get worse. Alice and her husband still haven’t told their grown up children about the diagnosis, I’m sure that chapter will be quite interesting…. Stay tuned fellow book bloggers.
Still Alice
Published
Lifejacket 
Hey Leslie,
I’ve heard nothing but great things about this book, so I’m interested to see what you think of it as you continue reading. I like how noted the difficulty the husband is having in terms of both accepting and coping with his wife’s diagnosis. It highlights the importance of acknowledging and supporting the family or spouse in situations like this, rather than focusing only on the person with the diagnosis. Dementia is a progressive disease with no current cure and is obviously devastating for everyone involved- sometimes maybe even more so, for the people who are left to watch the toll it takes on their loved ones.
I like how you pointed out the husband’s lack of patience as Alice’s condition worsens. I think this is a common reaction when loved ones are having difficulty understanding the changes that take place as a result of this illness, how to meet the needs of the person requiring support and how to manage their own needs. I’m personally connected to this as I made many observations of family members interacting with their ill loved ones in hospitals and long-term care facilities where i worked. I could often see the frustration of family members as they could no longer connect with their loved one the same way they once could, before their condition became severe. I think this brings about questions such as, what can be done to support family members better? How can they be better educated in terms of the illness? How can they learn to better interact with their loved one as changes occur? How can caregiver burnout be prevented/managed?
You also noted the husband’s initial denial of dementia in your blog, which I think could be better managed with support and education. Additionally, since early intervention is key with these types of illnesses, I think it’s important to raise awareness and to better educate people, so denial doesn’t hinder the likeliness of early intervention when possible.
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This sounds like a good book. I can’t imagine what it would be like to fully understand the logistics of your own illness and be able to prepare yourself for the outcome.
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I agree! 🤯
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I like how they captured the the husbands feelings as well, as it is super challenging for family members also. I feel bad for Alice as she knows what is going to happen, but there is not a whole lot she can do about it! I can’t wait to see how her dementia progresses (either getting better or worse)! Thanks for the update!
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Wow! I couldn`t imagine having early onset dementia and how hard it would be to cope with that. both as the individual but as well as the family. It must be extremely tough for her and her husband going through that experience. I`m interested to see how they work on managing it together and what the next steps will be for them as they are going through this. Keep us posted!!
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I have been following along as you blog, I as well have heard many great things about this book. I am intrigued to learn how the grown children deal with this issue and the impact it will have on them assuming that they are not around on a daily bases, I am curious as to what they will see and from their perspective the changes they have observed, watching someone you love struggle with dementia can feel hopeless and frustrating.
Until next time!!
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