Fading Angel is a story about my mother's 15-year struggle with Alzheimer's. The book is a heart-wrenching story about the devastation of this disease and contains many personal stories but includes information on first signs, dealing with unfamiliar behavior, legal and financial information, medicine and research and even includes letters for mailing to Congress for healthcare reform. There is also a very strong spiritual message in that unconditional love and digging into one's sources of understanding and compassion seems to be the answer to assist in enlightening the burden for both victim and caregiver. Everyone has the power of God within them to enable them to take on the huge responsibility of caring for a loved one.
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"This book cuts right to the core. A great read and a great service!" --Chicago Hospital Network Newsletter, March, 2001
About the Author
Ms. Donahue has spent 35 years in corporate management and did double duty by caring for an invalid father-in-law paralyzed from a stroke, then her mother-in-law who became stricken with Alzheimer's and now, finally, caring for her own mother with the same disease. She has long been an advocate for women's rights and from her recent experience, is now a huge advocate for healthcare reform for stay-at-home victims who need in-home care.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loving Preparations and Care for Alzheimer's Victims,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 100 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Fading Angel: A Chronicle of Love (Paperback)
Yesterday, my 85 year-old Father called to tell me about his younger brother who appears to have Alzheimer's. My uncle had gotten up at 1 a.m., dressed, and announced to my aunt that he was heading out to go fishing. As you can imagine, hearing a story like that both opens up your heart and gives you a tiny smile. As Fading Angel points out, you need to cherish such moments. They mostly come in the beginning of the disease, and it's all downhill from there. Ms. Donahue has a powerful story to tell, in relating what she has learned in her voyage through helping her Mom through 14 years of the disease relying on at-home care. I hope that every relative and friend of Alzheimer's victims will read and learn from this book. It's a story about using the heart and the mind to create a better life for everyone. Unlike most book's about Alzheimer's patients which focus on the disease, or "managing" the patients, this one empathizes with the afflicted as well as their care givers. People with Alzheimer's know that there's something wrong with them, and it makes them feel anxious. This book is filled with loving suggestions for dealing with that anxiety, as well as building a new relationship with the ill person. Lead with love and compassion, and it seems to work better for everyone involved. I loved reading about Ms. Donahue's many ideas for activities for her Mom that helped her feel needed and participating. I was even more impressed with the material in the book on how to prepare for the consequences of Alzheimer's. There are legal, financial, and care-giving decisions to be made. There are resources that need to be mustered. And you have to do all of this while being overwhelmed with the consequences disease itself. People start by forgetting names. Pretty soon, they have trouble remembering where they are or what they just did. This book opens with Ms. Donahue's Mom wanting to have pie and coffee, and forgetting that they had just finished doing so five minutes earlier. Ms. Donahue also makes a powerful case for middle class families getting more financial help from the federal government for at-home care. Her solutions for finding help with care-giving are very inspired and inspiring! The limitation of reading any single book about the experience with Alzheimer's is that the consequences of each person's affliction will differ. I suggest that you also read Ms. Jacqueline Marcell's book, Elder Rage, to see what it can be like to care for an aggressive Father who is suffering from the disease. The strength of a case history like this one is that it opens up the details and the pain in a way that statistics can never capture. You will be helping someone whom you love, probably a parent or spouse, and they will just slip away from you. As Ms. Donahue points out, it's not just like taking care of a two-year old. Two-year olds can learn and remember. The one thing that this book did not address is the recently published research (in Aging with Grace) on the brains of those who did and did not have Alzheimer's. Having a great deal of mental stimulation in your life will stave-off the onset of the symptoms. Those with more education, people who work with ideas, readers, and especially teachers can help themselves to some extent. Until more research is conducted, this may be the most we can do. Perform all the parts of your life with grace, love, and compassion!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
LOVE IS THE KEY,
By Sharon Calvert (Cocoa Beach, FL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fading Angel: A Chronicle of Love (Paperback)
Fading Angel was a sad journey into the land of the aging for me. I personally know the author who is my first cousin and her Mom was my Aunt Alice. I knew Aunt Alice as a happy, bouncy, highly intelligent woman who loved her life and family. In Aunt Alice's late 40's, she enrolled in classes to upgrade her secretarial skills; she learned how to type and perform office work. She landed a job as the secretary to the Fire Chief in her city. I had little contact with Sande and Aunt Alice for almost 30 years so imagine my surprize and horror when I read Sande's book, Fading Angel!!I have read and re-read the book countless times. I've shed many tears, but always come to the same conclusion. The key is to treat the Alzheimer patient with the same respect you had shown them all their lives... be consistent, patient, assuring and constantly show the patient they are loved. The author shares with us that she assured her Mother over and over that they would be together no matter what. My admiration and respect for Sande is limitless as she takes us down the long path to devistation of the mind an Alzheimers victim will endure. This book is one to share with a loved one who is aging. Senior citizens who are unsure and fear their fate may find some hope and consolation in Sande's well-written paragraphs. Caregivers will find her book especially helpful in "lining up their ducks". As I live in the State of Florida which has a vast senior citizen population, I was honored to present Sande's book to two Alzheimer Support Groups here on the Space Coast. I have also donated a copy of Fading Angel to our local library in my Aunt Alice's memory. My sister, who lives in northern Wisconsin, has done the same. Wonderful job, Sande, and a tribute to your Mom, my Aunt Alice, who will always be ageless in my memory.
5.0 out of 5 stars
LOVE IS THE KEY,
By Sharon Calvert (Cocoa Beach, FL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fading Angel: A Chronicle of Love (Paperback)
Fading Angel was a sad journey into the land of the aging for me. I personally know the author who is my first cousin and her Mom was my Aunt Alice. I knew Aunt Alice as a happy, bouncy, highly intelligent woman who loved her life and family. In Aunt Alice's late 40's, she enrolled in classes to upgrade her secretarial skills; she learned how to type and perform office work. She landed a job as the secretary to the Fire Chief in her city. I had little contact with Sande and Aunt Alice for almost 30 years so imagine my surprize and horror when I read Sande's book, Fading Angel!!I have read and re-read the book countless times. I've shed many tears, but always come to the same conclusion. The key is to treat the Alzheimer patient with the same respect you had shown them all their lives... be consistent, patient, assuring and constantly show the patient they are loved. The author shares with us that she assured her Mother over and over that they would be together no matter what. My admiration and respect for Sande is limitless as she takes us down the long path to devastation of the mind which Alzheimers victims will endure. This book is one to share with a loved one who is aging. Senior citizens who are unsure and fear their fate may find some hope and consolation in Sande's well-written paragraphs. Caregivers will find her book especially helpful in "lining up their ducks". As I live in the State of Florida which has a vast senior citizen population, I was honored to present Sande's book to two Alzheimer Support Groups here on the Space Coast. I have also donated a copy of Fading Angel to our local library in my Aunt Alice's memory. My sister, who lives in northern Wisconsin, has done the same. Wonderful job, Sande, and a tribute to your Mom, my Aunt Alice, who will always be ageless in my memory.
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