Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The charged, symbiotic relationship between dementia patients and their caregivers comes to vivid life in these deeply compassionate, beautifully observed stories--from a clinical psychologist writing in the tradition of Oliver Sacks Dasha Kiper was twenty-five and getting her master's in clinical psychology when she took a leave of absence and began to look after a Holocaust survivor with middle-stage Alzheimer's. For a year, she lived with the emotional strain of caregiving, learning firsthand how disorienting and painful it can be to live with a person whose condition blatantly disregards the rules of time, order, and continuity. She decided to become a counselor for other caregivers, and this book reflects her ten years helping people who are going through this process.
In these poignant but unsentimental stories of parents and children, husbands and wives, Kiper dispels the myth of the perfect caregiver. Relying on a wide breadth of cognitive and neurological research as well as personal experience and borrowing from philosophy and literature, Kiper explores the existential dilemmas created by this disease: a man believes his wife is an imposter; a woman's imaginary friendships with famous authors drive a wedge between her and her devoted husband; another woman's childhood trauma emerges to torment her son; a man's sudden, intense Catholic piety provokes his wife. As painful as these conflicts are for caregivers, resolving them has its own cost. In order to find peace, they need to walk an impossibly fine line between acknowledging what the disease has taken from someone they love and recognizing what it has left.
Frustration and conflict are as intrinsic to these relationships as love and hope. This is a powerful, illuminating portrait of humanity and the terrible pressure dementia places on our strongest bonds.
Synopsis
What happens when a person with a healthy brain cares for someone with dementia? These deeply compassionate, beautifully observed case studies illuminate what's at work in this uniquely confounding, symbiotic relationship. Dasha Kiper was twenty-five and getting her master's in clinical psychology when she took a leave of absence and began to look after a Holocaust survivor with middle-stage Alzheimer's. For a year, she lived with the emotional strain of caregiving, learning firsthand how disorienting and painful it can be to live with a person whose condition blatantly disregards the rules of time, order, and continuity. She decided to become a counselor for other caregivers, and this book reflects her ten years helping people who are going through this process.
In these poignant but unsentimental stories of parents and children, husbands and wives, Kiper dispels the myth of the perfect caregiver. Relying on a wide breadth of cognitive and neurological research as well as personal experience and borrowing from philosophy and literature, Kiper explores the existential dilemmas created by this disease: a man believes his wife is an imposter; a woman's imaginary friendships with famous authors drive a wedge between her and her devoted husband; another woman's childhood trauma emerges to torment her son; a man's sudden, intense Catholic piety provokes his wife. As painful as these conflicts are for caregivers, resolving them has its own cost. In order to find peace, they need to walk an impossibly fine line between acknowledging what the disease has taken from someone they love and recognizing what it has left.
Frustration and conflict are as intrinsic to these relationships as love and hope. This is a powerful, illuminating portrait of humanity and the terrible pressure dementia places on our strongest bonds.
Synopsis
Caring for a loved-one with dementia can be deeply confounding. These deeply compassionate, beautifully observed case studies illuminate what's at work in this symbiotic relationship and remind us there is no such thing as the perfect caregiver. Dasha Kiper was twenty-five and getting her master's in clinical psychology when she took a leave of absence and began to look after a Holocaust survivor with middle-stage Alzheimer's. For a year, she lived with the emotional strain of caregiving, learning firsthand how disorienting and painful it can be to live with a person whose condition blatantly disregards the rules of time, order, and continuity. She has now been a counselor for caregivers for a decade, and she wrote this book to let them know they are not alone.
In these poignant but unsentimental stories of parents and children, husbands and wives, Kiper dispels the myth of the perfect caregiver. Relying on a wide breadth of cognitive and neurological research as well as personal experience and borrowing from philosophy and literature, Kiper explores the existential dilemmas created by this disease: a man believes his wife is an imposter; a woman's imaginary friendships with famous authors drive a wedge between her and her devoted husband; another woman's childhood trauma emerges to torment her son; a man's sudden, intense Catholic piety provokes his wife. As painful as these conflicts are for caregivers, resolving them has its own cost. In order to find peace, they need to walk an impossibly fine line between acknowledging what the disease has taken from someone they love and recognizing what it has left.
Frustration and conflict are as intrinsic to these relationships as love and hope but Kiper wants caregivers to forgive themselves. By illuminating the terrible pressure dementia places on our strongest bonds she hopes to offer them valuable perspective and solace.
Synopsis
Caring for someone with dementia can be overwhelming. These compassionate, beautifully observed case studies meld science and storytelling to illuminate both sides of this complicated, symbiotic relationship. After getting her master's in clinical psychology, Dasha Kiper took a leave of absence from school and began to look after a Holocaust survivor with middle-stage Alzheimer's. For a year, she lived with the emotional strain of caregiving, learning at firsthand how disorienting and painful it can be to look after a person whose condition blatantly disregards the rules of time, order, and continuity. Based on the decade she has since spent as a counselor for caregivers of dementia patients, Kiper offers an entirely new approach to understanding the relationship between patients and those tending to them.
In these poignant but unsentimental stories of parents and children, husbands and wives, Kiper dispels the myth of the perfect caregiver. Relying on a wide breadth of cognitive and neurological research and borrowing from philosophy and literature, Kiper explores the existential dilemmas created by this disease: a man believes his wife is an impostor; a woman's imaginary friendships with famous authors drive a wedge between her and her devoted husband; another woman's childhood trauma emerges to torment her son; a man's sudden, intense Catholic piety provokes his wife. As painful as these conflicts are for caregivers, resolving them has its own cost. In order to find peace, caregivers try to walk an impossibly fine line between acknowledging what the disease has taken from someone they love and recognizing what it has left.
Anyone taking care of a family member with dementia knows how difficult it can be, but Kiper explains why it is difficult, why the caregiver's mind often mirrors the irrationality, denial, and rigidity that typically characterize the patient's behavior. By focusing on the healthy brain's proclivities, Travelers to Unimaginable Lands reveals the neurological obstacles to caregiving, illuminating not only the terrible pressure the disease exerts on our closest relationships, but offering solace and perspective as well.
Synopsis
These compelling case-histories illuminate the complicated relationship between the mind of someone with dementia and the mind of the person caring for them. After getting her master's in clinical psychology, Dasha Kiper took a leave of absence from school and began to look after a Holocaust survivor with middle-stage Alzheimer's. For a year, she lived with the emotional strain of caregiving, learning at firsthand how disorienting and painful it can be to look after a person whose condition blatantly disregards the rules of time, order, and continuity. Based on the subsequent decade she has spent counseling caregivers of dementia patients, Kiper offers an entirely new approach to understanding the relationship between patients and those tending to them.
In these poignant but unsentimental stories of parents and children, husbands and wives, Kiper dispels the myth of the perfect caregiver. Relying on a wide breadth of cognitive and neurological research and borrowing from philosophy and literature, Kiper explores the existential dilemmas created by this disease: a man believes his wife is an impostor; a woman's imaginary friendships with famous authors drive a wedge between her and her devoted husband; another woman's childhood trauma emerges to torment her son; a man's sudden, intense Catholic piety provokes his wife. As painful as these conflicts are for caregivers, resolving them has its own cost. In order to find peace, caregivers try to walk an impossibly fine line between acknowledging what the disease has taken from someone they love and recognizing what it has left.
Anyone taking care of a family member with dementia knows how difficult it can be, but Kiper explains why it is difficult, why the caregiver's mind often mirrors the irrationality, denial, and rigidity that typically characterize the patient's behavior. By focusing on the healthy brain's proclivities, Travelers to Unimaginable Lands reveals the neurological obstacles to caregiving, illuminating not only the terrible pressure the disease exerts on our closest relationships, but offering solace and perspective as well.
Synopsis
These compelling case histories meld science and storytelling to illuminate the complex relationship between the mind of someone with dementia and the mind of the person caring for them. "This book will forever change the way we see people with dementia disorders--and the people who care for them."--Lori Gottlieb, author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
After getting a master's degree in clinical psychology, Dasha Kiper became the live-in caregiver for a Holocaust survivor with Alzheimer's disease. For a year, she endured the emotional strain of looking after a person whose condition disrupts the rules of time, order, and continuity. Inspired by her own experience and her work counseling caregivers in the subsequent decade, Kiper offers an entirely new way to understand the symbiotic relationship between patients and those tending to them. Her book is the first to examine how the workings of the "healthy" brain prevent us from adapting to and truly understanding the cognitively impaired one.
In these poignant but unsentimental stories of parents and children, husbands and wives, Kiper explores the existential dilemmas created by this disease: A man believes his wife is an impostor. A woman's imaginary friendships drive a wedge between herself and her devoted husband. Another woman's childhood trauma emerges to torment her son. A man's sudden Catholic piety provokes his wife.
Why is taking care of a family member with dementia so difficult? Why do caregivers succumb to behaviors--arguing, blaming, insisting, taking symptoms personally--they know are counterproductive? Exploring the healthy brain's intuitions and proclivities, Travelers to Unimaginable Lands reveals the neurological obstacles to caregiving, enumerating not only the terrible pressures the disease exerts on our closest relationships but offering solace and perspective as well.
Synopsis
These "moving and often surprising" (The Wall Street Journal) case histories meld science and storytelling to illuminate the complex relationship between the mind of someone with dementia and the mind of the person caring for them. " Kiper] evinces a capaciousness of sympathy and understanding for Alzheimer's patients and (especially) their caregivers that infuses her portrayals of their struggles with Sacksian humanity."--Scott Stossel, The American Scholar
After getting a master's degree in clinical psychology, Dasha Kiper became the live-in caregiver for a Holocaust survivor with Alzheimer's disease. For a year, she endured the emotional strain of looking after a person whose condition disrupts the rules of time, order, and continuity. Inspired by her own experience and her work counseling caregivers in the subsequent decade, Kiper offers an entirely new way to understand the symbiotic relationship between patients and those tending to them. Her book is the first to examine how the workings of the "healthy" brain prevent us from adapting to and truly understanding the cognitively impaired one.
In these poignant but unsentimental stories of parents and children, husbands and wives, Kiper explores the existential dilemmas created by this disease: A man believes his wife is an impostor. A woman's imaginary friendships drive a wedge between herself and her devoted husband. Another woman's childhood trauma emerges to torment her son. A man's sudden Catholic piety provokes his wife.
Why is taking care of a family member with dementia so difficult? Why do caregivers succumb to behaviors--arguing, blaming, insisting, taking symptoms personally--they know are counterproductive? Exploring the healthy brain's intuitions and proclivities, Travelers to Unimaginable Lands reveals the neurological obstacles to caregiving, enumerating not only the terrible pressures the disease exerts on our closest relationships but offering solace and perspective as well.
Synopsis
These "moving and often surprising" (The Wall Street Journal) case histories meld science and storytelling to show that caregivers don't just witness cognitive decline in their loved ones with dementia--they are its invisible victims. "This book will forever change the way we see people with dementia disorders--and the people who care for them."--Lori Gottlieb, author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Inspired by Dasha Kiper's experience as a caregiver and counselor and informed by a breadth of cognitive and neurological research, Travelers to Unimaginable Lands dispels the myth of the perfect caregiver. In these compassionate, nonjudgmental stories of parents and children, husbands and wives, contending with dementia disorders, Kiper explores the existential dilemmas created by this disease: a man believes his wife is an impostor; a woman's imaginary friendships with famous authors drive a wedge between her and her devoted husband; another woman's childhood trauma emerges to torment her son; a man's sudden, intense Catholic piety provokes his wife.
Kiper explains why the caregivers are maddened by these behaviors, mirroring their patients' irrationality, even though they've been told it's the disease at work. By demystifying the neurological obstacles to caregiving, Kiper illuminates the terrible pressure dementia disorders exert on our closest relationships, offering caregivers the perspective they need to be gentler with themselves.