Three books with three different perspectives on dementia

Three very different books illustrate different aspects of either living with dementia or caring for someone with that condition.

Somebody I used to know – Wendy Mitchell, published by Bloomsbury, 2018

Serialised last year as Radio 4’s Book of the Week, Wendy Mitchell’s account of coping with a diagnosis of early onset dementia and of living successfully with it is inspirational and is a powerful and entertaining account of what life can be like for someone with dementia and how life can be challenging but remain fulfilling.

Married to Alzheimer’s. A life Less Ordinary – Steph Booth, published by Penguin 2019

Just published, Married to Alzheimer’s looks at dementia from the perspective of Steph Booth who supported and cared for her husband, the actor Tony Booth who died in 2017. Steph writes honestly about how Alzheimer’s (he refused to call it dementia) impacted on their lives. Steph acknowledges that Tony could be a difficult and rebellious man and that his lifestyle made undertaking and eventually  accepting any diagnosis problematic. The difficulties they face together are all too apparent but there is a warmth and humour in the way that she writes about their experience together.

The Memory Detectives – Julia Amos, published by Charlcombe Books, 2018

The Memory Detectives is a short but entertaining book written by Julia Amos whose mother-in law, Jean, lives at Osbourne Court run by one of our customers, Windmill Care Ltd. Although it is a children’s adventure story aimed at encouraging young people to engage with older people with dementia it also provides an excellent illustration for all readers of the value reminiscence and life history work.