Creating Moments of Joy Along the Alzheimer's Journey: A Guide for Families and Caregivers, Fifth Edition, Revised and Expanded

The writing style of this book was off-putting at first, with its excessive use of rhetorical questions and "n" in place of "and". However, I recommend ignoring that and reading it anyway, because the information it contains is both insightful and practical. The "nutty caretaker" approach is genius and truly works, and my entire family is now using it with my dad who has Alzheimers. The chapters are very short, so if you are busy you can read and digest one of them quickly between other tasks.

I have now purchased probably six or so of these books. I give them to my friends who have a parent with Alzheimer's. I have given one to my dad and two to my sister because mom has Alzheimer's. It's written with compassion and reminds us that our mom or dad, spouse, sibling are still there. It's up to the rest of us to be in their world, not vice versa.

I have one and bought this one as a gift. Great book to help us deal with people, be it loved ones or any other person, with dementia or alzheimer. Told in a way that is easy to under stand and helps the reader understand how that person might be feeling when we say certain things and they react different then we they would have before this disease set in.

This book is easy to read, filled with so many helpful thoughts about dealing with the difficulties of memory loss and confusion of loved ones. I've purchased 5 copies and have read the book, given it to others dealing with the same situations. This is a positive and helpful book that shows how to build happy memories in difficult times.

A must read for anyone who wants to learn the best strategies for dealing with friend, family or stranger with memory issues. The author gives examples of different situations unique to memory loss and offers solutions to help one work with the person. This book teaches how to take one's own anxiety or stress related to a dementia/Alzheimer's diagnosis of a loved one and turn it into a creative challenge for helping. Found this helpful dealing with people without memory issues as well.

Lots of digestible tidbits in this book. It was highly recommended at a Memory Cafe, and I could see me and 2 other "daughters" pick up their phones and order it right then and there. It's easy enough to pick up and read a page or two because most topics are that long. It's got a wealth of tips, and I love the small quotes at the end of each section. And it's interesting, so I find myself reading it throughout the day when a free moment pops up. I believe it will be one of those gems that you are grateful to have found. I often read, underline, and then offer the "take home message" to my husband. We're new to navigating life with mom and I know I have a road map with this book.

This book takes us into the realm of ''How to make a person with dementia feel more comfortable and useful while dealing with this disorder''. Dementia can be devastating but many people with this situation still have plenty to contribute to daily life and society. This book helps one accept this situation while gaining techniques for face-to-face encounters with the realistic and unrealistic problems these people face each day. I have been working with people who have this disorder for over 3 years now. Use this book as your stepping stone for personal growth towards understanding & dealing with any person who has this disorder. We will never fully understand dementia but we can do our best towards helping ourselves & others adjust to this situation.

My mother has dementia and I have been stumped with how to handle a variety of situations. I recently had to put her in a home and it was very difficult for both of us. I wish that I had read this first to identify how to handle situations.I have since used actions and phrases multiple times and they work! This has helped me to understand her needs and my place. This weekend she even hugged me and sang me a song from when I was a child and I knew I had reached her. Thank you for writing this book!

Okay Dementia is not a subject any individual warmly welcomes into their life. However I have learnt two key points in my carer role. Firstly, like most things in life it is what it is. We did not invite Dementia into our home, but having arrived it is best to prepare as well as you can. Secondly, the illness is progressive and gets worse but as it does so it is possible to get some positive times. No one wants the Dementia road but accepting it is happening is one step on the road to helping the person with the condition.The great thing about this book I found is that it is bite sized. After the leaflets from the memory clinic you are very much on your own in the early stages. So many what ifs, maybes, possibilities, etc. Go on some online forums with no real knowledge and prepare to be depressed. Yes any of this can happen but rarely in the same order, the same intensity or the same time span. Your loved ones journey will be similar to others but also to a degree unique.I found reading and researching about Dementia depressing to a degree and still did not give me a road map. This book was very useful not as a read through in one go but a dip into source of knowledge. How to deal with situations which may or may not arise. That allows you to focus on what is in front of you, not depress you with all the possible eventualities that might happen or might not. Humour is used, common sense logic, the right balance certainly to me. I am three years into this journey and I now know far more than I did, have learnt new skills, have a much better understanding of how events will most likely develop. I just wish there were more resources like this to reach for when starting out as a carer of a loved one with Dementia.I hope Amazon will allow me to take a liberty on such a tricky subject and mention a few other resource centres which would in my opinion help others along this road of learning. If I can help one other person I would have done some good.Firstly get on the Talking Point forum on the Alzheimers website. Contributors have helped me several times with really useful first hand experience. It is a friendly and safe place to go. Just read the threads to start with but one day you will be glad to know there are other carers you can reach out to. Secondly Future Learn do some excellent courses on Dementia caring. They are good learning sources, free to access for a limited period or indefinitely for a reasonable fee, you can enter forums as you progress on the course. You stop feeling clueless, isolated, etc, get some knowledge at a level pitched at the ordinary carer struggling along. A few hours a week and it does bring rewards.Thirdly and only if you want to know more about Dementia. The University of Tasmania do excellent courses. More time demanding, intensive to a degree, but I finally had a much better grip on what Dementia is, how it progresses, research, supportive actions you can take to help a loved one by seeing the world through their diminished mental eyes. A more demanding course but rewarding in my eyes.All the above and this book have helped me develop as a Carer for a loved one with Dementia. I got over the initial emotional upset and these tools have helped me enormously. Caring is isolating, frustrating, energy sapping, etc, but it is also rewarding and has rounded me as a person. Please take care on any carer journey you are on. Please, please Amazon I know I have pushed non Amazon products here but they are all free, just little known about. Please, please let your platform carry this information and help others on a hard and difficult road. Good luck fellow carers.

Great book. Nicely laid out

This book is a positive, encouraging read. It makes it possible to understand and deal with difficult situations in dementia, with good humour, clinical understanding and love. I enjoyed it, and it made me smile.

An inspirational read

I have read many books on dementia but I really like Jolene’s approach. She doesn’t sugarcoat situations and how they should be handled. I will be using her suggestions more and more as time goes on...