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Summary: Living in the Labyrinth: A Personal Journey Through the Maze of Alzheiner's
Comment: This book was well done with frightening information about the dreadful disease of Alzheimer's. Unfortunately, the copyright is 1993 and I would love an update. There are new things that are helping with Alzheimer's every day. Every 72 seconds another person has been diganosed with Alzheimer's (according to Alzheimer's Desease Research)so we need more books like this that are more recent.
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Summary: Thanks!
Comment: Thank you for your quick service and amazing availability. I have checked over half a dozen places for my new book and no one seems to carry it! I appreciate your speedy shipping as it comes in handy when I need something soon.
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Summary: Another exploration into ALZ by one who is there
Comment: This is a magnificent addition to the small but growing oeuvre of those telling it like it is from within the shadow of Alzheimer's. Unlike Kuhn's "Alzheimer's Early Stages" who offers a Prozac to those of us who defy his Polyannish view of a CRS' mental functioning without seeking insights from those who remain lucid and analytical and rational within, despite our infrequent "windows of clarity", McGowan tells it like it is for some of us: warts, fistulae, et al. She does not hold back from her anger, depression and increased libido. [Discretely, I have observed that the female party in an ALZ pairing, whether caregiver or ALZer, seems to be affected by ALZ as if it were a female aphrodasiac, whereas the male is threatened by his partner's increased "horniness." Studies of sexual activities in aging environments seems to confirm this casual observation, which appears psychological rather than physiological, i.e. it seems not related to the physical phenomena of erectile dysfunction, or loss of vaginal lubrication, but rather a soritin reward for coping with the stress of ALZ.McGowan's struggles with those who demanded that she surrender control over her completed opus are mirrored in our daily lives as our caregivers, facilitators, and M.S.W.'ers "command" that we
that we surrender our remaining identities since these are an obstacle for those who "know what is best for us;" and regard disobedience as defiance by ADHD juveniles.
McGowan's book could have used a considerate and conservative collaborator and/or editor to polish the rough diamond she has put forth, just as DeBaggio's "Losing My Mind" cries out for polishing, which refining Snyder's "Speaking Our Minds" exemplifies. But both McGowan and DeBaggio give us the raw data, from which we we middle stage ALZheimers desperately need so that we are not be alone nor terminally unique.
Interstingly, McGowan justifiably claims credit for instigating an Alzheimer support group, where none existed [there are an abundance of groups and "Idiot's Guides" for caregivers, but these tend, like Alanon, to be pity pots of anger and resentment directed at those of us with middle stage Rapid Onset "Late Onset" diagnoses, who have not yet deteriorated like Iris Murdoch into vocal or literary aphasia although the communicating becomes more difficult as the Ah!HA!s of insight flee much too rapidly. [I do not envison heaven for those who forget that one must recall spelling in order to use a dictionary or word processer!]
Like Strauss' "Speaking to Alzheimers", "Living in the Labyrinth" is an ideal guide of "Do's & Dont's for those who wish to communicate with us, without inflicting their own anger and resentment into us.
A "Must Read" for ALZers, Caregivers, Facilitators, and others who do not have Closed Minds regarding those of us who assure them that there is "A Human Thinking Within" the quickly closing walls of outward communication, acknowledgement, and recognition.
On the other hand, "cursed be those who have eyes and do not see, and ears which do not hear;" [Jeremiah & Ezekiel] vasecors et amens.
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Summary: A Must Read
Comment: Living in the Labyrinth is one of the first books I read when I began researching Alzheimer's disease. It is a gripping account of Alzheimer's disease from the inside. I found myself reading the whole book in one sitting.
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Summary: A must-read for those caring for others with AD
Comment: When I first began my zealous quest to understand the disease of Alzheimer's, I stumbled across this book. To this day, it remains the most influential book I've read for understanding stages 1-5. Written in first person, it provides a soul-revealing glimpse into the maze of AD as one woman shares her quest to deal with the loss of function and depression accompanying this stage of the journey. Years later, I still pick it up occassionally to reconnect.
