The Alzheimer’S Diary

Book excerpt: One who Forgets and One who is Forgotten One in eight over the age of sixty-five and one in three over the age of eighty will be diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease. In her memoir, author Joan Sutton narrates a moving account of her years as caregiver to her husband, noting that Alzheimers is a disease of the brain that is paid for with the currency of the heart. A member of the board of overseers of The Alzheimers Drug Discovery Foundation, she stresses the need to develop more effective treatment for the five million Americans currently diagnosed with this incurable disease, pointing out that for every patient there is a large circle of others also affected. Sutton offers practical advice for the care of the caregiver and the patient, and shares the pain that came as she watched pieces of her husbands self disappear. Following his death, after what Nancy Reagan described as the long goodbye, she writes candidly about coping with her new status as a widow and the aching loneliness of the heart that is the price paid for having known a great love. 100% of the authors royalties (20 to 40% of the purchase price) will benefit the Alzheimers Drug Discovery Foundation/Canada. Cover design by John R. Lewis