Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A sensitive and well written semi-autobiography, January 19, 2006
Robert Tell presents an account of his mother's slow descent into
dementia and its impact on him as the only son. Although the author
suggests this is not a "how to" book it definitely educates the reader
about many significant issues such as geriatricare management, driving
and preneed funeral planning--to mention a few. This book is unusal for
its male (son) caregiver perspective and a must read for all who are
going through the chalenging years of caring for an elderly parent.
Although I am now an adult orphan I read the book and garnered insights
about the journey that I and my family recently completed with the
passing of my 94 year old mother several years ago.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Neil Simon laugh and cry scenario..., January 18, 2006
As a CEO of a mental health agency and as the bereaved family member of an
Alzheimer's victim I found this book to be OUTSTANDING-entertaining-
informative......a primer on the family implications of the deadly and devastating impact of dementia on the afflicted and their loved ones. Other books focus on the
technical and miss the emotional and personal reality that engulfs both the afflicted and the caregiver. Dementia Diary fills this gap with dignity and warmth. Every reader will benefit greatly, as did I.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dementia Diary Good Medicine For Caregiver Isolation, September 5, 2006
"Dementia Diary: A Caregiver's Journal," is personal, warm and witty. It's also heartbreaking. Tell is open with the pain one suffers watching the personality changes dementia brings to a beloved parent. He is an only child. This brings a unique loneliness in handling the sometimes slow, often startling changes dementia can bring. There is a deep feeling that no one can truly understand. Tell brings this home powerfully in his memoir. I have already recommended it to readers of my column and by email, when I coach people through their personal caregiving pain.
Tell's story about his mother's watch had me laughing out loud, as I experienced the same thing with my mother, my mother-in-law and my dad. There is no logical need for a watch battery to be replaced immediately, when an elder is in a nursing facility. There are clocks all over and people to take the elder wherever they need to go. But they must have their watch. My dad couldn't even see the extra large face of his, but he somehow knew if the battery quit. The watch story is just one of the many - nearly universal - stories Tell offers the reader.
There are many dementias other than the well-known Alzheimer's. I had three elders with dementia. Each was different. It's good to get the word out that all dementia is not Alzheimer's.
I will continue to recommend Robert Tell's book to anyone feeling the isolation of a caregiver - especially an only child.
Carol Bradley Bursack
Author/Speaker/Columnist
Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories www.mindingourelders.com
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