Helpful books for the two of us

jbrown13

I've been lurking around for a year or so but have yet to post. I am the sole caregiver for DW.  We live in a rural area and have very little support.  Today we are trying to find a book or other material that we can read together. DW and I need to try to understand what each is going through.  DW, what is happening to me.  DH, (me), what can I do better to support and how do I keep my sanity and health as we travel this road.  I don't know stages or anything but we started noticing changes five or six years ago.  There is very little or no help within the community.  I hate that we are all here but any suggestions would be helpful. Our local bookstore is 1-800-Amazon. Thanks, Jim and Myra

Old89

There are a lot of books taking different approaches.  

For how it affects the emotions of the caregiver of someone with dementia:

Loving Someone Who Has Dementia:  by Pauline Boss PhD

Floating in the Deep End:  by Patti Davis (Pres Reagan's daughters story of their Alzheimers journey

For practical information about the disease and its affects:

The 36 Hour Day: by Mace and Rabins.

Travel Well with Dementia:  by Jan Dougherty

A Loving Approach to Dementia Care:  by Laura Wyman

Surviving Alzheimers:  by Paula Spencer Scott

There are more, but this is a good list.  I have read them all and found them useful.  36 Hour Day is frequently recommended but I found it a slog as it is very encyclopedic and describes things you will not deal with perhaps for many years.

A couple of other thoughts.   Deepa Snow is a well known speaker on Alzheimers and you can find her on YouTube as well as she has a podcast series you can find on where you find podcasts.   

Also there are numerous Zoom support groups.  I am in the Phoenix area and there are several but you don't need to be local to participate.   Sources I have used here are 

DuetAZ.org

BannerALZ.org

Both websites list educational opportunities and support groups that have remote access.  I have been trying to get ahead of this journey through self teaching as much as I can.   I wish you all the best.