Mantra: Repetition in the Land of Alzheimer's

by Denise Weeks

Repetition and memory loss go hand in hand. When Weeks’s mother started telling random strangers how her dog got its name, over and over again, and skirmishes about how much beer her mother was drinking became a well-worn rut in daily conversations, she asked what every caregiver desperately wants to “What next?” She asked that same question several times a day, every day, for years, so often that she started to wonder, who’s the one stuck in a loop? At every major milestone on her caregiving journey—taking control of meds, bringing in outside help, taking away her mom's car, getting control of finances, providing meals—she answered the question and then found herself asking it again, almost immediately, sometimes tweaked to break the "Now what?!”  Repetition in the Land of Alzheimer’s, is a collection of personal essays about the first six years of Alzheimer’s, possibly the most uncertain time for caregivers. Told with humor and insight, Mantra weaves Weeks’s unique experiences of giving care to her resistant mother with principles of caregiving and general wisdom gleaned from resources as diverse as The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali to Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal. Part confession, part guide, Mantra is good company for anyone on the caregiving journey. 

179 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 2, 2017

Reviews

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a moving beautiful book filled with humor and tips on caregiving. Each chapter is centered on theme and on a different stage of the caregiving process. I highly recommend the book if you or someone you know is caring for a loved one with dementia.