Official Review: Adventures with Alzheimer's by Andrea Lee

CataclysmicKnight · Post by **CataclysmicKnight** » 25 Sep 2019, 16:24

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Adventures with Alzheimer's" by Andrea Lee.]

3 out of 4 stars

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I've always had major problems with memory, and along with memory problems comes a fear of Alzheimer's. So when I came across Adventures with Alzheimer's by Andrea Lee, I couldn't help myself. I had to read it!

Andrea begins Adventures with Alzheimer's by telling readers how she discovered her mother had Alzheimer's and how she accepted the responsibility of being her caregiver. From there, she leads into the meat of the book: quick little snippets of each day from April 30th-July 31st, 2017.

The daily format works perfectly. The majority of each day is comprised of dialogue between Andrea and her mother, and she fills in the gaps with bits of information, explanations of why she said or did certain things, how she felt, and/or tips for others who have a loved one with Alzheimer's.

There's not really a plot to the book, but Andrea deals with her mother's progressing Alzheimer's and the struggles that go along with it. I loved how Andrea showed that her mother can be equally sweet, funny, kind, cold, mean, or distrusting depending on how her Alzheimer's is affecting her at that moment. I was also amazed at how well these little snippets conveyed so many different emotional struggles, such as debating over whether to put her mother in a home, learning everything by trial and error, and dealing with trying to have spare moments to live her own life. Andrea also includes lots of humor, turning a book that could easily be overwhelming into a fun ride. The way she deals with some of the more ridiculous situations her mom puts her in are terrific, but my favorite part is when Andrea's mom learns about Instagram filters. Many days have a photo included along with them, and once Andrea shows her mom the magic of Instagram filters, Andrea's mom doesn't want to take "regular" pictures for a long time!

The snippets included in Adventures with Alzheimer's come from her Facebook page. I enjoyed the book so much that I found her page and scrolled through a bunch more of the recent posts. Despite reading over two hundred pages of Andrea's adventures, I still wanted more! It's great to see that the quality of her stories hasn't declined any in the last couple of years. I'd give the book a perfect score in a heartbeat, but sadly I found exactly enough errors throughout the book to prevent me from doing so. A total of ten errors in two hundred pages isn't bad at all, but it's enough to force me to give the book 3 out of 4 stars. I'd recommend it to anyone with a friend or family member dealing with Alzheimer's in a heartbeat, but anyone who enjoys emotional nonfiction writing with a good dose of humor should check it out as well.

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Adventures with Alzheimer's
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Kaitlyn Canedy · Post by **Kaitlyn Canedy** » 13 Nov 2019, 01:02

My mom has had 2 strokes already, and the fear of something like Alzheimer's is always there. I am glad that the author wrote a book so others that are have loves ones with this disease do not feel so alone in their adventure.

Maríe Wamakima · Post by **Maríe Wamakima** » 13 Nov 2019, 03:08

The other day I came across a YouTube video of an elderly lady who is a victim of Alzheimers disease. Sometimes she forgot what she was saying or her surroundings. It was really sad. I can't imagine how difficult it is to live with the disease. Now it must be more difficult for the caregiver as he/she has to deal with the mood swings and emotions. I would really want to read to see just how much difficult it is.

missfrombliss · Post by **missfrombliss** » 13 Nov 2019, 05:37

From experience, you never know how it would be to be with a person with Alzheimers disease even when you read about it. However, I feel very blessed for those people who are willing to share their stories and who make a whole picture of the disease the goods and bads, moments of laughter and moments of struggling. And who are willing to take care of that family member, husband,wife, mother, father, brother, sister, cousin...They all need a reward. Thanks for the review!

bkallam · Post by **bkallam** » 14 Nov 2019, 22:37

Thank you for this review! I've always been absolutely terrified of having to witness somebody close fall victim to Alzheimers disease. This seems like such an informational and overall heart-warming turn on the situation. I really would love to read this.