Floating in the Deep End: How Caregivers Can See Beyond Alzheimer's
Product ID: 563129096
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With the heartfelt prose of a loving daughter, Patti Davis provides a life raft for the caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. “ For the decade of my father’s illness, I felt as if I was floating in the deep end, tossed by waves, carried by currents, but not drowning ,” writes Patti Davis in this searingly honest and deeply moving account of the challenges involved in taking care of someone stricken with Alzheimer’s. When her father, the fortieth president of the United States, announced his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in an address to the American public in 1994, the world had not yet begun speaking about this cruel, mysterious disease. Yet overnight, Ronald Reagan and his immediate family became the face of Alzheimer’s, and Davis, once content to keep her family at arm’s length, quickly moved across the country to be present during “the journey that would take [him] into the sunset of [his] life.” Empowered by all she learned from caring for her father―about the nature of the illness, but also about the loss of a parent―Davis founded a support group for the family members and friends of Alzheimer’s patients. Along with a medically trained cofacilitator, she met with hundreds of exhausted and devastated attendees to talk through their pain and confusion. While Davis was aware that her own circumstances were uniquely fortunate, she knew there were universal truths about dementia, and even surprising gifts to be found in a long goodbye. With Floating in the Deep End , Davis draws on a welter of experiences to provide a singular account of battling Alzheimer’s. Eloquently woven with personal anecdotes and helpful advice tailored specifically for the overlooked caregiver, this essential guide covers every potential stage of the disease from the initial diagnosis through the ultimate passing and beyond. Including such tips as how to keep a loved one hygienic, and careful responses for when they drift to a time gone by, Davis always stresses the emotional milestones that come with slow-burning grief. Along the way, Davis shares how her own fractured family came together. With unflinching candor, she recalls when her mother, Nancy, who for decades could not show her children compassion or vulnerability, suddenly broke down in her arms. Davis also offers tender moments in which her father, a fabled movie star whom she always longed to know better, revealed his true self―always kind, even when he couldn’t recognize his own daughter. An inherently wise work that promises to become a classic, Floating in the Deep End ultimately provides hope to struggling families while elegantly illuminating the fragile human condition. Review: A must read for anyone who has a loved one with any form of dementia. - Patti Davis' book is 50% spirituality, 50% practicality and 100% heart. It is so intimately written from her own personal experiences with her dad, and it also gives information on caring for someone with dementia and more importantly on caring for oneself as they say goodbye to their loved one. I am only halfway through the audio book, and it has already brought me so much peace and insight. I felt so alone, helpless and hopeless in my feelings about my mother's dementia. This book has really helped me to open up again and to heal. I can't recommend it enough. Review: Amazing Read! - I found this very rewarding. I could relate to living with, caregiving with a father or my spouse who had Alzheimer’s for ten years. In the beginning you don’t think of dementia but then a light bulb went on and I mentioned it to his doctor. Yes it was Alzheimer’s and every day sure was different. My spouse is gone 4 1/2 years but for me I think about what we didn’t get to do and I do miss him more now. When I’m driving my car once in a while it feels like someone is sitting on my lap. So I Pat my lap and “tell him how much I miss him”. Also once in a while when I wake up in the morning it feels to me “like he should be next to me in bed” but it’s just my dog!
| Best Sellers Rank | #331,585 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #146 in Alzheimer's #284 in Dementia #369 in Medical Professional Biographies |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 269 Reviews |
K**N
A must read for anyone who has a loved one with any form of dementia.
Patti Davis' book is 50% spirituality, 50% practicality and 100% heart. It is so intimately written from her own personal experiences with her dad, and it also gives information on caring for someone with dementia and more importantly on caring for oneself as they say goodbye to their loved one. I am only halfway through the audio book, and it has already brought me so much peace and insight. I felt so alone, helpless and hopeless in my feelings about my mother's dementia. This book has really helped me to open up again and to heal. I can't recommend it enough.
M**N
Amazing Read!
I found this very rewarding. I could relate to living with, caregiving with a father or my spouse who had Alzheimer’s for ten years. In the beginning you don’t think of dementia but then a light bulb went on and I mentioned it to his doctor. Yes it was Alzheimer’s and every day sure was different. My spouse is gone 4 1/2 years but for me I think about what we didn’t get to do and I do miss him more now. When I’m driving my car once in a while it feels like someone is sitting on my lap. So I Pat my lap and “tell him how much I miss him”. Also once in a while when I wake up in the morning it feels to me “like he should be next to me in bed” but it’s just my dog!
P**M
I was prepared to not like this book but it is truly wonderful!
Part memoir but mostly a fabulous guide for caregivers! As a huge fan of President Reagan I was intrigued by the prospect of learning more about his final journey. Ms. Davis gives all of us much comfort in knowing that her father's going home to God was as peaceful as we would have hoped for. Her insight that the disease could not change his soul is such a beautiful reminder that, while attending to our loved one's physical needs, we ought always to remember that distinct interior character that we love in them. I am so very grateful for this deeply moving, deeply honest, and very well-written book!
J**J
A Good Read
I didn’t realize that the author was THE Patty Davis; the daughter of President Reagan. President Reagan was my favorite President and I remember exactly where I was when he passed (a year after my mother). The book is about seeing beyond caregiving and as a caregiver of a spouse with Young Onset Alzheimer’s, (YOA), I didn’t find this book to help me see beyond caregiving at this time but the author does touch on the subject of being a spouse and on YOA. I really just enjoyed reading about her perspective since her family was not the close family I grew up with. I found myself wanting to be a friend to the author; especially when she wrote about a “friend” who didn’t seem to show compassion for what she went through. I’m sure I will read this book again and I would recommend.
S**I
A MUST-READ for caregivers of every type of dementia. A wise life-guide for anyone in mourning.
This book is a gem. Davis suffered along with her family members for one long and painful decade as she watched the father she once knew disappear in fragments. She is skilled at harmonizing detailed advice for caregivers at every single stage of the disease with her own personal anecdotes and a candid peek into the complicated layers of an unstable family faced with the raging storm of Alzheimer’s. In addition to the tragedy and devastation of the disease, Davis takes a close examination of all her life lessons brought keenly into focus by its presence. Years after she stood by as her father took his last breath, she was haunted by the need to begin a support group for caregivers. In her time running workshops for BEYOND ALZHEIMER’S Davis used her experience, know-how, and gentle heart to ease the burden of those coming to her for guidance and sustenance. If anyone you know or love is facing the brutality of dementia in any form or is watching someone they love slip away to any harrowing ailment, this book is a must-read.
G**E
Comforting and insightful for family caregivers
As a person who loved and lost 2 parents with Alzheimer’s disease, I know firsthand whether or not someone truly has experienced the frustration of caring for a family member with dementia. Patty Davis has truly experienced it and then deftly written a book that gives wonderful support to those who are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. This is a book I loved and will recommend to others.
M**M
For anyone wanting to understand death & grief
I wish the cover didn't have the word "Alzheimer's" on it because it's really a book for everyone. Anyone planning to age, or who loves someone aging, should read it. Death & grief are taboo in American culture. This book poignantly speaks of both topics in a way that provides understanding and hope. It is not a depressing book, in fact, it brought me a sense of peace regarding both those I mourn and the thought of my own death. I borrowed this book from a library but I'm buying my own hardback copy as I expect to reread it often.
R**R
For Caregivers
A profound and human account of the journey caregivers experience with their loved one. Patti Davis, whose father is former President Ronald Reagan, has written about her father's decline for ten years after leaving office and her role as his caregiver. Both the careging experience and journey you take with the one receiving your care will change you. And finally recognize this is who you've become and who you want to be.
C**S
A Light in the darkness
For most caregivers there are no helping hands or guides to walk with us, or before us. This book does both. An amazing read. Thank you.
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