Alzheimer's Essentials: Practical Skills for Families and Caregivers by Bretten C. Gordeau, Jeffrey G. Hillier

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Reviewer:David O. Staats, MD (University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center)
Description:This book discusses Alzheimer's disease and how to care for persons with Alzheimer's disease.
Purpose:Its purpose is to inform families and caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease about the nature of the illness and how to care for someone who has it.
Audience:Although written for a lay audience, the book could be profitably read by young trainees in medicine, pharmacy, nursing, social work, and physical and occupational therapy. The authors have a sophisticated approach that speaks to their expertise.
Features:Among the nine chapters are discussions on how to talk with your doctor, an especially comprehensive discussion of symptoms, and on planning and therapies. The chapter with tips and tools for the caregiver stands out for its thoroughness and practicality.
Assessment:This book is inexpensive and practical. It is written in such a clear, compassionate, empathic tone that it is soothing just to read a few pages. Thus, it is a useful addition to the growing number of works for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease. If we only teach medical students about plaques and tangles and drawing clocks, we fall far short of our mission. Let them ponder, as this book does, what to do when the person with Alzheimer's disease makes socially inappropriate sexual remarks in public.