Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint, Chesnut R. Andrew

Providing an accessible, question-and-answer-format primer on what touches so many lives, and yet so few of us understand, Alzheimers Disease and Dementia: What Everyone Needs to Know(R) contributes what is urgently missing from public knowledge: unsparing investigation of their causes and manifestations, and focus on the strengths possessed by people diagnosed. Steven R. Sabat mines a large body of research to convey the genetic and biological aspects of Alzheimers disease, its clinical history, and, most significantly, to reveal the subjective experience of those with Alzheimers or dementia. By clarifying the terms surrounding dementia and Alzheimers, which are two distinct conditions, Sabat corrects dangerous misconceptions that plague our understanding of memory dysfunction and many other significant abilities that people with AD and dementia possess even in the moderate to severe stages. People diagnosed with AD retain awareness, thinking ability, and sense of self; crucially, Sabat demonstrates that there are ways to facilitate communication even when the person with AD has great difficulty finding the words he or she wants to use. From years spent exploring and observing the points of view and experiences of people diagnosed, Sabat strives to inform as well as to remind readers of the respect and empathy owed to those diagnosed and living with dementia.