The Lost Kitchen: Reflections and Recipes of An Alzheimer's Caregiver

by Miriam Green

The Lost Kitchen: Reflections and Recipes from an Alzheimer’s Caregiver is an honest and heartfelt look at the hidden gifts of living with a parent with Alzheimer’s. Miriam Green weaves poetry, recipes and anecdotes into a nourishing whole as she details her family’s struggle to maintain balance--and laughter--in the face of her mother’s diagnosis and deterioration. Throughout this most personal of stories, Naomi has been Miriam’s greatest teacher. Together, they remind us how to love and laugh in a world that is often confusing and painful.

276 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2019

Reviews

[Geza Tatrallyay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miriam Greene’s THE LOST KITCHEN is a joy to read. It is an ode to her mother, plagued with the debilitating disease, Alzheimer’s, for whom Miriam and her father care with love, patience and sacrifice. After a life of travels, the family has settled in Israel and it is there that the illness manifests itself and where Miriam has to find the resources within herself and in the community to deal with it. The book combines many elements; for one, it is a wonderfully written guide to caring for someone with this particular form of dementia. More importantly, we see that it is through the writing of this book that Miriam copes with her own sense of loss at seeing her mother deteriorate with time. Also, the intermingling of the prose of the story with a series of recipes and poems works extremely well, conveying on the one hand the lightness of spirit one has to adopt to cope and on the other, the intense emotions that this elicits on a daily basis. I particularly love the poem “Onions” on page 138 – so simple, yet so telling! The recipes are the ones Miriam has learned from her mother and it is the love and respect that she has for her that comes through as she passes them on to her readers.

This is a book that everyone should read. A tour de force.

[Zari Reede · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lost Kitchen is a book of recipes, poems, and a heartfelt story of a woman working through the pains of losing her mother to Alzheimer’s. I didn’t know what I would think about the layout of this very different book, but it flows incredibly well. Mixing all the ingredients of the three subjects together, the author bakes up the perfect complex map of what it’s like to be with an individual battling Alzheimer’s. Miriam’s love and respect for her family is immense, and she tells the reader just how to weather the storm of loss, savoring the days for what they are.
If you know someone, or have a loved one who has this illness, you will identify with Miriam’s plight. I lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s. This book touched my heart, made me laugh, cry and contemplate the meaning of each poem. (Frog in My Throat is one of my favorites.)I am not a huge fan of poetry, but I loved these funny, heartfelt, meandering sentiments that truly described the confusion and frustration of all given parties. I even bought another copy of the book for my sister in-law as a gift. I found it very therapeutic and inspiring to read.

With scrumptious recipes that have awakened my desire to try new things, Miriam Green makes things seem simple. Warm and inviting Cauliflower soup, Bubalehs, to peanut butter-chocolate cake, she shares recipes from across the Atlantic while describing her exotic location in Israel. I’m not Jewish but found her explanation of the food and culture interesting. The book is filled with enticing chapters of food, family, and how her faith related to cooking. With humor and strength, Miriam shares the warm memories of her family together, in the kitchen of their past and present.

With respect, dignity and love, Miriam Green’s book is inspiring, humbling and teaches that we are all humans with the same essential needs. Savor the moment you are in and find a place in your heart to remember with love.

[Fred Shackelford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miriam Green’s The Lost Kitchen evokes a wide range of emotions as the author describes her mother’s descent into the abyss of Alzheimer’s disease. Green’s compassion and love for her mother are enlightening and inspiring, even as she recounts incidents that are poignant or heartbreaking. The book opens with a poem that eloquently describes the confusion that arises when Alzheimer's disease robs one’s brain of its ability to reason, until the victim ultimately arrives at a point where “even your name is lost.”
A number of parallel themes emerge as Green and her mother Naomi together face the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease. Naomi’s progressive confusion with navigating the tasks of everyday life coexists with Miriam’s struggle to understand her mother’s new reality. Similarly, Naomi’s mood swings are often reflected in her daughter’s own emotions, which range from anger and guilt to joy and amusement.
The Lost Kitchen is a thoughtful, compassionate and moving account of the effect of Alzheimer’s disease on family relationships. This book will appeal to any reader whose life is affected by a family member’s or friend’s mental illness.

[Linda Thorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read even though a sad story. I was aware of how devastating Alzheimer's is for the victim and their family members, especially for those who are the caregivers. This memoir answered numerous questions I had about the disease and the toll it takes on others. But the author made the story even more interesting by adding the on-the-side family history, intriquing geographical locations where she's lived, and the sprinkling of poetry and humor. The recipes worked too. Yeah, the subject is a bummer, but it's reality, and Miriam Green handled it so that the reader will want to stick with it to the end.

[Ze'Ev Silverman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miriam Green has created something both deeply personal and somehow familiar. At a time when Alzheimer's dementia is all around us and portrayed in virtually every medium, The Lost Kitchen somehow rings true and startlingly authentic. Combined as is here with simple, practical recipes relating to her family lore as well as her original, moving poetry, the accounts of her successes and [more frequent] failures in dealing with her mothers' descent into the Alzheimer's rabbit hole is profoundly meaningful. Hopefully, this first book portends much, much more from this passionate, lyrical writer.