Review by B00kN1nja -- Living With Alzheimer’s: A ...

[B00kN1nja]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Living With Alzheimer’s: A Journey Observed" by Leigh Smyth, MD.]

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Living with Alzheimer’s: A Journey Observed blends an emotional, personal tale of a caretaker and a clinical analysis of an Alzheimer’s patient. The author, Dr. Leigh Smyth, has divided the book into three major parts. The first part is a narrative describing the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) she noticed in her husband and how his symptoms began to affect their life. In this first part, she also illustrates how his symptoms worsened over time. Part two separates some of the personal emotion a little bit to isolate and observe the signs and symptoms that her husband experienced. She also discusses how the symptoms may vary in different individuals. The final part explains how she moves through this trying journey and gives some tips for anyone else who is or may become a caretaker for an individual with Alzheimer’s.

Dr. Leigh Smyth narrates an upsetting story about the slow loss of her husband to AD and uses it to educate and potentially inspire individuals that may wind up in a similar circumstance. While much of the content was very personal, her language and writing style remained frank and professional, allowing her to effectively provide educational content. Sharing from personal experience lends some further credibility to her advice and allows readers to personally connect to the author. Living with Alzheimer’s ultimately provides informative content that could benefit anyone affected by AD; the information is presented in a very understandable and easily applicable manner, making it appropriate and useful for nearly any reader.

The only dislike I had concerning this book was a lack of clarity and separation between some of the topics, particularly in the second section. There was a clear divide between the tone and purpose of the second and third section, but the first and second section were a bit less differentiated. The first two sections could have been melded together and I think it would have been potentially more effective. Other than that, I have little criticism for this book. While the book may not interest everyone and does not comprehensively cover AD symptoms and care, it effectively addresses the topics that the author sets out to cover. I did not even notice any grammatical or technical errors as I read through the book.

While it seems that the book was intended to be more clinical and empirically informative, I thought that the book excelled at being empowering and emotionally inspiring. Many of the symptoms that Dr. Leigh Smyth described could be very hurtful and discouraging to the caregiver. In this case, the author herself was the caregiver and despite the discouragement and emotional harm she faced, she pushed through and maintained a positive outlook. To me that was the best part of this book; her persistence and positivity were an excellent show of grace and love that not even a fictional work could capture.

While there are clues in the book that suggest the author may have some religious preference, it is not specified what that preference is. The book is well suited for someone of any religious or non-religious background. There is no profanity included in this book, nor is there explicit sexual content. There is some discussion of her sexual relationship with her husband and how they made changes in that area of their life, but no description of specific sexual interactions.

I rate this book 4 out of 4. This is a solid book for basic AD education written for a general audience and the personal touch gives it an emotional power that no textbook possesses. I did not have any serious qualms to justify a rating below 4.

******
Living With Alzheimer’s: A Journey Observed
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[AntonelaMaria]

Great job with the review. I read similar take but on dementia I would very much be interested in reading this book. I love that it has a personal touch.

[khaulah]

My grandmother, who is no more, had Alzheimer's. I don't think reading any book in the world could have prepared me for it. Nevertheless great effort from the author's side. Good job with the review!