The Caregiver: A Life With Alzheimer's

When Aaron Alterra's wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the diagnosis radically altered the author's role in a vital partnership that had spanned 60 years. Husband became caregiver, and gradually came to think of himself as his wife's "primary physician," managing her care assisted by aides and medical specialists as needed. In this account, Alterra describes his attempts to find new ways to connect with his wife and to help her live at peace with her condition. He explains how caregivers can better understand the symptoms of Alzheimer's if they recognize that the patient struggles to adapt not to individual memory loss but to a loss of relationship, a lost sense of how things connect. He also shares practical information about support groups, patients' rights, and financial matters.