Alzheimer's from the Inside Out

I have early dementia, fitting the criteria for Alzheimer's. Like the author, I was a psychotherapist in my 50s when my difficulties became such that I couldn't work. It's incredibly powerful to read his words, and see what I would have said if I were only so gifted. Most importantly, I want doctors to read this book, as most of them relate only to dementia as it looks in the end stage, and aren't familiar with what the early disease process looks like.

Whether you are a care giver or have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's this book will enrich your knowledge. Richard Taylor has the insight of personal experienc. He also has the gift of being able to convey that experience with passion, honesty and grit.

This book is a wonderful insight to the affects of Alzheimer's from a patient's perspective. It is a reminder of why we must continue to be patient, loving and understanding when dealing with anyone with the disease. This is a book I will share and recommend to others.

Alzheimer's from the Inside Out is a stunning achievement. In this collection of essays, Richard Taylor gets at the essence of dementia, and how it has redefined his relationships with family, friends and even with himself. There are no answers when it comes to Alzheimer's, but Richard asks all the right questions. Alzheimer's from the Inside Out is much more than a resource for anyone dealing with the disease. Although the book includes plenty of practical information, Richard goes beyond test scores, standard medications and neuroimaging to the more important philosophical and psychological aspects of life after diagnosis. He takes the focus off the disease, and puts it back on the person. I wish I'd read this book when my father were alive. I would have worried less about what was wrong with him and worried more about just being with him.

Very few books can be all things to all people. This comes very close. I have read most of the others, including the very few written by the people affected by some kind of brain condition that changes them, their behavior, their perceptions of themselves, and people's and society's perceptions of them as individuals. This book, written by a highly intelligent and verbal retired psychologist, a professional, about his own progression through the early stages of dementia, probably of the Alzheimer's type (medical people have to use that phrase as only a biopsy of the brain is definitive right now), is for everyone. Those affected, their loved ones, professionals working with those affected, academicians/researchers looking for insights, psychologists, sociologists, psychoneurologists, etc. etc. It is not just about dementia. Any brain problem that changes the person is equally relevant. I know what I speak about. I am also a retired psychologist, diagnosed with Pick's Disease, a dementia of the frontotemporal form. The causes may be irrelevant to most readers (build-up of certain proteins in the brain, vascular misfunctioning, whatever). It is the existential reality that is explored here, with exquisite insight, and humor as well. I have never met this man, but I certainly know him well now. I can't recommend this book highly enough.