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15 Helpful Books for Alzheimer’s Caregivers

Alzheimer's

Being a caregiver, family member, or friend to someone suffering from Alzheimer's can be emotional and physically challenging. Thankfully there are more and more resources available for learning how to live and cope with Alzheimer's in your life.  Here is a list of 15 top books for helping you navigate this difficult time. Many of these books can be purchased in digital format or even found at your local library. Give us a call at (207) 848-5600 or check out our Contact page to get in touch.

1.) Creating Moments of Joy for the Person With Alzheimer's or Dementia 4th Edition

by Jolene Brackey

"Jolene Brackey has a vision. A vision that will soon look beyond the challenges of Alzheimer's disease and focus more of our energy on creating moments of joy. When a person has short-term memory loss, his life is made up of moments. But if you think about it, our memory is made up of moments, too. We are not able to create a perfectly wonderful day with someone who has dementia, but it is absolutely attainable to create a perfectly wonderful moment; a moment that puts a smile on their face, a twinkle in their eye, or triggers a memory. Five minutes later, they won't remember what you did or said, but the feeling you left them with will linger."

Buy Here: Creating Moments of Joy

2.) The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementias, and Memory Loss

by Nancy L. Mace (Author), Peter V. Rabins (Author)

"The most trusted guide for caring for persons with Alzheimer's disease, memory loss, and dementia disorders-now revised and updated with practical and legal advice and compassionate guidance for families and caregivers."

"When someone in your family suffers from Alzheimer's disease or other related memory loss diseases, both you and your loved one face immense challenges. For over thirty years, this book has been the trusted bible for families affected by dementia disorders. Now completely revised and updated, this guide features the latest information on the causes of dementia, managing the early stages of dementia, the prevention of dementia, and finding appropriate living arrangements for the person who has dementia when home care is no longer an option."

Buy Here: The 36-Hour Day

3.) Learning to Speak Alzheimer's: A Groundbreaking Approach for Everyone Dealing with the Disease Paperback

by Joanne Koenig Coste

"More than four million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, and as many as twenty million have close relatives or friends with the disease. Revolutionizing the way we perceive and live with Alzheimer’s, Joanne Koenig Coste offers a practical approach to the emotional well-being of both patients and caregivers that emphasizes relating to patients in their own reality. Her accessible and comprehensive method, which she calls habilitation, works to enhance communication between care partners and patients and has proven successful with thousands of people living with dementia. Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s also offers hundreds of practical tips."
Buy Here: Learning to Speak Alzheimer's

4.) Surviving Alzheimer's: Practical Tips and Soul-Saving Wisdom for Caregivers Paperback

by Paula Spencer Scott
"Alzheimer's and other dementias can be rough waters. I know. Five times now, I've experienced a family member's personality changes, memory loss, and other symptoms and stressors -- and the churning that these challenges can create for everyone involved. I wrote Surviving Alzheimer'safter developing the Alzheimer's channel for a pioneering eldercare site, which led to my speaking and writing as a caregiving educator and dementia-care advocate. Through all this, I've been privileged to work with remarkable MDs, PhDs, MSWs, and an alphabet soup of other experts, as well as countless un-credentialed but equally wise hands-on caregivers. In Surviving Alzheimer's, I've summarized their life-changing insights and practical solutions in a way that's fast and accessible--because few of us have a lot of time and energy, even as we have tons of questions, worry, and stress. Alzheimer's and other dementias don't just strike a person's brain; they strike his or her whole support network. If you're like me and my family, you'll often feel at sea. Surviving Alzheimer's is the lifeline resource I'd have wanted to help me get safely to the other shore. "

5.) Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living with Alzheimer's & Other Dementias: 101 Stories of Caregiving, Coping, and Compassion

by Amy Newmark
"Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia? You are not alone. With 101 encouraging and inspiring stories by others like you, this book is a source of support and encouragement throughout your caregiving journey.

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia affect millions of people, and this book is especially for caregivers. This collection, a joint project with the Alzheimer’s Association, is filled with 101 stories of love and lessons from others like you, will support and encourage you as you care for your loved one."

Buy Here: Living with Alzheimer's & Other Dementias

6.) Understand Alzheimer's: A First-Time Caregiver's Plan to Understand & Prepare for Alzheimer's & Dementia

by Calistoga Press
"A diagnosis of Alzheimer'sdisease can be frightening and overwhelming-and not just for the patient. Becoming the primary caregiver for a newly diagnosed loved one can be one of the most challenging and one of the most rewarding experiences possible. In Understand Alzheimer's: A First-Time Caregiver's Plan to Understand & Prepare for Alzheimer's & Dementia, you'll find a wealth of practical and useful information to help you and your loved one deal with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Understand Alzheimer's is a guide to providing compassionate care for a spouse, parent, sibling, or friend, from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease until the end of life."

7.) When Reasoning No Longer Works: A Practical Guide for Caregivers Dealing with Dementia & Alzheimer's Care

by Angel Smits
"Nearly five million families deal with Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia on a daily basis. They do this with little training, and often only their good intentions guide them. When Reasoning No Longer Works is the training manual these family caregivers have been searching for. Written by a Gerontologist with more than twenty years of experience, this reference gives the reader an easy-to-understand view of what dementia does to the brain, how it is diagnosed, and most importantly, how to deal with its effects."

8.) The Best Friends Book of Alzheimer's Activities, Volume One

by Virginia Bell MSW (Author), David Troxel MPH (Author), Tonya Cox M.S.W. (Author), Robin Hamon M.S.W. (Author)
"Bring out the best in each person with dementia each day with more than 140 versatile, easy-to-implement Best Friends activities. Thousands of caregivers around the world know that providing Best Friends' care improves the quality of life of people with dementia by building on the essential elements of friendship; respect, empathy, support, trust, humor, and sharing time together. Using the Best Friends approach to activities, anyone on staff can turn any interaction with a resident or client into an activity that satisfies essential physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Each activity contains suggestions for personalizing the activity and matching it to the remaining strengths of the individual to ensure success and reduce challenging behaviors. The Best Friends Book of Alzheimer's Activities is chock full of inspiring and innovative ideas."

9.) The Best Friends Book of Alzheimer's Activities, Volume Two 1st Edition

by Virginia Bell MSW (Author), David Troxel MPH (Author), Tonya Cox M.S.W. (Author), Robin Hamon M.S.W. (Author)
"Expand and enrich your Best Friends activity programming with 149 all-new activities for individuals with dementia. Like the first book, this collection of fun and easy activities will add both meaning and enjoyment to the activities at your adult day center, home care setting, or residential care facility."

10.) Dementia: Dementia Types, Diagnosis, Symptoms, Treatment, Causes, Neurocognitive Disorders, Prognosis, Research, History, Myths, and More! Facts & Information

by Frederick Earlstein (Author)

"Dementia is one of the most prevalent syndromes prevalent today, and yet scientific and medical knowledge of dementia and its many different types, causes, and dynamics are arguably still in its beginning stages. Neither does it help that public awareness of dementia is also pretty sparse. For years, people have considered dementia as just a normal part of aging, when it actually isn't. "Dementia Explained" by Frederick Earlstein gathers together much of the current knowledge and information about dementia, its history, types, symptoms, causes, treatment, and prognosis into one, easy-to-read reference that seeks to demystify this syndrome for the ordinary layman. Within these pages, we take a look at some of the many different types of dementia that afflict millions of people in the world today."

Buy Here: Dementia: Dementia Types, Diagnosis, Symptoms

11.) The Spectrum of Hope: An Optimistic and New Approach to Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias Hardcover – October 31, 2017

by Gayatri Devi MD (Author) 

"Imagine finding a glimmer of good news in a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. And imagine how that would change the outlook of the 5 million Americans who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, not to mention their families, loved ones, and caretakers. A neurologist who’s been specializing in dementia and memory loss for more than 20 years, Dr. Gayatri Devi rewrites the story of Alzheimer’s by defining it as a spectrum disorder—like autism, Alzheimer’s is a disease that affects different people differently. She encourages people who are worried about memory impairment to seek a diagnosis because early treatment will enable doctors and caregivers to manage the disease more effectively through drugs and other therapies."

Buy Here: The Spectrum of Hope

12.) Through The Eyes Of Dementia: A Pocket Guide to Caregiving

by Johnna M Lowther

"SURVIVE and THRIVE in the world of dementia! This is your personal guide from an industry insider to give you all the tips and techniques that professionals use every day while working with this painful disease. This knowledge can lead you into a relationship that is more peaceful, loving, and fulfilling."

Buy Here: Through The Eyes Of Dementia

13.) Keeping Love Alive as Memories Fade: The 5 Love Languages and the Alzheimer's Journey

by Debbie Barr (Author), Edward G. Shaw (Author), Gary D. Chapman (Author) by Johnna M Lowther

"Across America and around the world, the five love languages have revitalized relationships and saved marriages from the brink of disaster. Can they also help individuals, couples, and families cope with the devastating diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD)?

Coauthors Chapman, Shaw, and Barr give a resounding yes. Their innovative application of the five love languages creates an entirely new way to touch the lives of the five million Americans who have Alzheimer’s, as well as their fifteen million caregivers. At its heart, this book is about how love gently lifts a corner of dementia’s dark curtain to cultivate an emotional connection amid memory loss."

Buy Here: Keeping Love Alive as Memories Fade

14.)Mike & Me: An Inspiring Guide for Couples Who Choose to Face Alzheimer’s Together at Home

by Rosalys Peel (Author), Dan Zadra (Editor)

More than three years in the making, this book changes everything for Alzheimer's couples and caregivers. When her husband Mike was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Rosalys Peel made a deal with him. Together, they vowed that they would manage Alzheimer's in their own home and go right on living life as normally as possible for as long as possible. Over the next ten years, they found new ways to defy and surpass virtually all the typical Alzheimer's statistics. Despite Mike's illness they pursued their dreams, traveled the world, helped raise their granddaughter, maintained their romance, kept Mike on his feet, and found new ways to communicate with their friends, family, and each other. They also saved countless thousands of dollars by doing it in the familiar surroundings of their own home. Through it, all Rosalys kept a journal of their discoveries. The result is her inspiring guidebook for Alzheimer's couples, entitled "Mike & Me."

Buy Here: Mike & Me

15.) Becoming an Alzheimer's Caregiver: What I Learned from Caring for my Mom

by Amy Neuzil (Author)

“I felt like a friend sat me down and explained Alzheimer’s in a way that was both easy to understand and painfully honest.” According to the Alzheimer’s Association, someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s disease every 66 seconds. Much of their care is provided by friends and family members who must navigate years of decision-making in the midst of a debilitating and isolating disease. Carefully researched, Amy Neuzil’s warm and straightforward approach will guide you through the complexities of Alzheimer’s disease caregiving while helping you maintain your health and sanity. · Learn the basics about the disease including tests, how to talk with doctors, when and how to seek further help, and how to think about end-of-life decisions · Get practical, and often personal, advice on dealing with day-to-day concerns from communication difficulties, to hygiene, to safety · Find additional help through a wealth of well-organized resources Does getting the information you need to care for your loved one feel overwhelming? Let Becoming an Alzheimer’s Caregiver be your one-stop guide to the caregiving process so you can continue to live your life and enjoy your loved one. Foreword by Dr. Robert S. Keyes MD, Ph.D. Amy Neuzil is a former pediatric nurse. Her mother’s 2006 Alzheimer’s diagnosis made her one of America’s 15 million Alzheimer’s caregivers. Becoming an Alzheimer’s Caregiver draws on both her medical background and her personal experience in an approach that is straightforward, honest, and warmly compassionate.

Buy Here: Becoming an Alzheimer's Caregiver

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