The House on Beartown Road: a Memoir of Learning and Forgetting. – book review
Donna Wagner
Elizabeth Cohen (Random House, April 2003)
Elizabeth Cohen’s memoir about Alzheimer’s disease joins a rapidly expanding field of books written by family caregivers, an important source of support and comfort for those struggling with the emotional turmoil associated with tending to a sick loved one. An estimated 22 million American households provide care to an adult with long-term needs. Helping someone with Alzheimer’s is arguably the most difficult of these scenarios. Watching a loved one lose cognitive capacity, memories and even his or her self as the disease progresses is painful, creating an overwhelming physical and emotional challenge. Memoirs like Cohen’s can provide comfort. In addition, professional organizations, such as the ones listed below, and their network of peer support groups can provide strategies necessary for keeping a family member at home for as long as possible.
http://www.alzheimers.org/ The Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center (In affiliation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
http://www.alz.org/ The Alzheimer’s Association (The largest national voluntary health organization supporting Alzheimer’s research and care)
Donna Wagner, Ph.D., Towson University director of gerontology
COPYRIGHT 2003 Sussex Publishers, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
