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Still Me: Accepting Alzheimer’s Without Losing Yourself
Alzheimer’s is scary. But you can still find ways to be you after the diagnosis.
Rebecca Chopp never expected a routine annual checkup to uncover symptoms that ultimately revealed she has early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. The news was devastating.
After recovering from the shock, Rebecca knew the next retire from her stressful job leading the University of Denver, hold on to the core of herself for as long as possible, and find ways each day to live well so that her remaining time with her family and friends can be as rich and meaningful as possible.
This honest and hope-filled book—Still Me—chronicles Rebecca’s efforts, with the help of her family, friends, and medical team, to reshape her life for a healthy and vibrant approach to living with Alzheimer’s. Based on research and experience, Rebecca provides many suggestions on how to accept the diagnosis and continue to live well.
Rebecca Chopp never expected a routine annual checkup to uncover symptoms that ultimately revealed she has early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. The news was devastating.
After recovering from the shock, Rebecca knew the next retire from her stressful job leading the University of Denver, hold on to the core of herself for as long as possible, and find ways each day to live well so that her remaining time with her family and friends can be as rich and meaningful as possible.
This honest and hope-filled book—Still Me—chronicles Rebecca’s efforts, with the help of her family, friends, and medical team, to reshape her life for a healthy and vibrant approach to living with Alzheimer’s. Based on research and experience, Rebecca provides many suggestions on how to accept the diagnosis and continue to live well.
- GenresMemoir
264 pages, Paperback
Published February 27, 2024
36 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 27, 2024
I'll admit it: I was scared to read this book. As I'd just turned 60, I was dreading learning more about an illness that affects 10% of people in the world who are over 65. Eventually, I flipped through its pages and found that I was drawn in first by the illustrations and the story of how Rebecca Chopp rediscovered her creative spark through painting. Then I read the chapters about faith and spirituality. "What if the experience of God in the world isn't always coherent in a theological sense?," she asks, noting how her own journey of spirituality has been one that has opened, expanded, and guided her throughout her lifetime. She says of her spiritual experience: "I wish I could paint a picture. It would be swirls, blocks, and some lines. It would have colors of magenta and orange and blue, but also gray, drab taupe, and of course, black - a cold, haunting black like Hades. There would be light and darkness and shadows, but most of all the picture would be full of movement, as if to portray not a pyramid with a definite and mathematical order, but rather a lake and sky constantly meeting and changing." Woah. For days afterward, I couldn't wait to read more, and I couldn't stop recommending it to everyone I knew. This book offers a hopeful reflection on living with Alzheimer's. It also has a great deal to say about how each of us experience our own lives and the lives of our family members as we encounter the inevitable uncertainties of aging. Given the odds, we'll know more than a few people who have this diagnosis, and we might have to confront it ourselves. Will we still be "me"? Chopp's answer is a resounding "yes." Alzheimer’s, she says, has led her to reflect on what is deeper and more ultimate than us. Read this book and no matter what might happen, you will find your way. Even when your life is interrupted by the unexpected, Chopp's book helps you to see that you will be able to experience joy, embrace wellness, live fully, and be "still you."
March 6, 2024
Still Me is a memoir by Rebecca Chopp of her battle with Alzheimer's. The overall theme of this book, is that despite a terminal diagnosis, there are ways to still live and enjoy a good life that is rich and fulfilling, with lots of examples on how to do it. I was primarily interested in this book as a resource for information on Alzheimer's. The author is tremendously accomplished, having served at the head of administration/president/chancellor for several well-known US colleges and universities, including Yale.
The author covers a large variety of topics, including the complexity in obtaining a diagnosis and how easy it is to miss the early signs, the emotional and physical toll of living with an Alzheimer's diagnosis, the difficulty of dealing with doctors and medical jargon, and planning for the future while you're still able to make sound decisions.
She also discusses a lot of methods to mitigate symptoms, which were probably the most helpful chapters for me. Some methods mentioned are the MIND diet, getting 2 hours of exercise daily (doesn't have to be strenuous, can be as simple as walking if able), getting enough sleep, and engaging in creative and social endeavors (such as learning to paint, or getting together with friends). I found all of these methods to be approachable, at least with the mindset that any improvement in those areas can help (perfection isn't necessary).
Some resource/advocate groups mentioned were: Voices of Alzheimer's (VoA), Alzheimer's Association, Us Against Alzheimer's, Being Patient, and Dementia Minds.
While this book was very well written, I failed to connect with the author's personality. I found the writing to be self-aggrandizing, and the chapters on religion were just a little bizarre to me. The author refers to God as the "ultimate" and it was confusing to me to keep reading that as a noun rather than as an adjective (may not be true for everyone). I think the main point you can take away from those chapters is that faith in a higher being can be helpful to coping with Alzheimer's. Some of the chapters were helpful, insightful, and informative, but some of them were a slog to get through.
3.5/5 stars, rounded up. While the author's experiences with Alzheimer's appear to be more early onset, I do recommend this book to anyone who's been diagnosed or had a family member or friend diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Perhaps the most helpful section of the book was the footnote references, which were extensive. And it's hopeful to know there are things that you might be able to do to delay or mitigate the worsening of symptoms, to keep yourself or your loved one as themselves for as long as possible. Best wishes to anyone else who's picking this book up for similar reasons to why I did. May it give you some amount of hope, like it did for me.
The author covers a large variety of topics, including the complexity in obtaining a diagnosis and how easy it is to miss the early signs, the emotional and physical toll of living with an Alzheimer's diagnosis, the difficulty of dealing with doctors and medical jargon, and planning for the future while you're still able to make sound decisions.
She also discusses a lot of methods to mitigate symptoms, which were probably the most helpful chapters for me. Some methods mentioned are the MIND diet, getting 2 hours of exercise daily (doesn't have to be strenuous, can be as simple as walking if able), getting enough sleep, and engaging in creative and social endeavors (such as learning to paint, or getting together with friends). I found all of these methods to be approachable, at least with the mindset that any improvement in those areas can help (perfection isn't necessary).
Some resource/advocate groups mentioned were: Voices of Alzheimer's (VoA), Alzheimer's Association, Us Against Alzheimer's, Being Patient, and Dementia Minds.
While this book was very well written, I failed to connect with the author's personality. I found the writing to be self-aggrandizing, and the chapters on religion were just a little bizarre to me. The author refers to God as the "ultimate" and it was confusing to me to keep reading that as a noun rather than as an adjective (may not be true for everyone). I think the main point you can take away from those chapters is that faith in a higher being can be helpful to coping with Alzheimer's. Some of the chapters were helpful, insightful, and informative, but some of them were a slog to get through.
3.5/5 stars, rounded up. While the author's experiences with Alzheimer's appear to be more early onset, I do recommend this book to anyone who's been diagnosed or had a family member or friend diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Perhaps the most helpful section of the book was the footnote references, which were extensive. And it's hopeful to know there are things that you might be able to do to delay or mitigate the worsening of symptoms, to keep yourself or your loved one as themselves for as long as possible. Best wishes to anyone else who's picking this book up for similar reasons to why I did. May it give you some amount of hope, like it did for me.
March 22, 2024
An educator at heart, In the midst of her own health crisis and instead of focusing on privacy, the author chooses to expose her journey and educate us - to our great benefit! She wants us to understand the depth and width of the area between being a fully function adult or not able to do things for ourselves. Through her journey, she creates a navigation guide for those who will come after her on the same journey.
Chapters 1 - 6 may be a particular interest for people who have battling a disease based on brain inflammation. But chapter 7 and on are for all of us: how to build cognitive reserve, how to learn to see beauty in new ways through building a creative practice which shores up the right side of our brain. The importance of exercise, nutrition, sleep. You feel her distress at the diagnosis. You feel her awe at learning what the brain can do as she learns to paint. Whether diagnosed with a disease or not, these things can enrich all of our lives, and may increase the length of them.
She repeats herself at times, but it acts as a subtle reminder that the accomplished woman who writes this excellent book does have Alzheimer’s.
This book is both deeper and broader than I expected. That makes it more fulfilling than I expected.
Chapters 1 - 6 may be a particular interest for people who have battling a disease based on brain inflammation. But chapter 7 and on are for all of us: how to build cognitive reserve, how to learn to see beauty in new ways through building a creative practice which shores up the right side of our brain. The importance of exercise, nutrition, sleep. You feel her distress at the diagnosis. You feel her awe at learning what the brain can do as she learns to paint. Whether diagnosed with a disease or not, these things can enrich all of our lives, and may increase the length of them.
She repeats herself at times, but it acts as a subtle reminder that the accomplished woman who writes this excellent book does have Alzheimer’s.
This book is both deeper and broader than I expected. That makes it more fulfilling than I expected.
November 19, 2024
Chopp a prominent theologian and former administrator in higher ed, writes candidly about receiving an Alzheimer's diagnosis at the height of her career. She reflects and explores the emotional, physical, and spiritual challenges and changes in her life. The memoir serves as a great resource for individuals facing Alzheimer as well as for caregivers and loved ones. I love how Chopp says just because you are diagnosed does not mean your life is over as you know it.
March 7, 2024
This book is hopeful and inspiring, yet realistic. Alzheimer's has gone too long without realistic hopes for good living, but Chopp has found a way to balance joy and acceptance.
October 18, 2024
powerful. great 5 steps to manage the illness:
exercise
diet
experience awe
community
sleep
exercise
diet
experience awe
community
sleep
February 3, 2025
This book was minimally helpful to me.
Read
November 16, 2025Amazing, heart wrenching, but life affirming!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews