Pouf: A True Story about Love, Life, and Alzheimer’s

by Monica Vierling Hall

Even just the word Alzheimer’s can strike fear, for it can rob you of your loved one—if you allow it.   Pouf captures the loving journey between a daughter and her father as they choose to muddle through Alzheimer’s rather than succumb to fear. Their heartfelt exchanges prove that a relationship can exist, despite the disease. With shared laughter and tears, Monica attempts to make sense of her father’s words. First, they are like poetry. Later, like nonsense. Both required decoding. Monica must learn to accept each new level of deterioration and each new normal. Through it all, Monica finds herself reflecting upon her own life. Memories flood her—both tender and tragic. So, leave your shoes of normalcy at the door of the memory care unit. Venture inside. Listen in on the snippets of conversations. Step beyond your fear and walk with the Alzheimer’s patients on their journey, in their moment—before pouf! they are gone.

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 2, 2020

Reviews

[Kimberly Frost Pinkney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pouf by Monica Vierling Hall is a detailed account of Monica’s encounter with her Father’s Alzheimer’s mind. It is a fascinating inside view of daily life caring for and loving a person afflicted with this devastating mind erasing disease. Monica chronicles the interesting and mysterious things her dad would say to her over the course of his long gradual decline. It is a reminder of how we try to make sense of everything. He attempts to make sense of his reality and she tries to find meaning in his random words.
She gives flashbacks of life before her father’s memory started to fail and some insights into his relationships with his children and grandchildren. In somewhat of a comic relief style, the author shares experiences from her Catholic School that her father had also attended. The usual Catholic School stories center on a cruel nun. However, Monica, shares stories that show the children were mean to the nuns as well on occasion.
Monica’s compassionate tone toward the staff at the Alzheimer’s Center and especially the other patients was endearing and informative. You could tell that she grew to love these other patients that shared the general space with her father even though they were strangers and could interact only on a basic level.
I had really no reason at all for reading this book but I was drawn to it by the incredible imagery of the cover art. Monica compares the mind and memories of her father to a dandelion losing seedling after seedling. The cover artist, Ann Aubitz, captured the theme of the book perfectly. I am grateful that Monica took the time to share a glimpse of her experiences and observations in this book.
The love that this father and daughter shared was touching and transcended memory, thought, and even verbal communication. This touching and heartfelt book is a wonderful resource for someone who is beginning their journey into the unexpected realm of Alzheimer’s.

[Sharon Elling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remembering

We lost our mom to Alzheimer's over the last four years. A steady tragic loss of the essence of her. Monica's book brought remembrance of the pain of her suffering (and our internal suffering watching her go). I know Monica personally. How she could write so vividly about the duration of the bright days and the painful end days is a gift. A true gift to you and to me as her readers. I am so thankful for her.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful telling of family and love for the author’s dad. I fell in love with their journey through Alzheimer’s.