Dealing with dementia: a personal reflection

HOPE BEYOND DEMENTIA:
Lessons from a personal journey of care
By Chris Gee
Day One. 71 pages. £5
ISBN 978 1 846 257 803

The addition of this title increases the number of books in Day One’s practical and helpful series of personal experiences of trial and difficulty to about a dozen.

Previous subjects have included: MS; the terminal illness of a child; Down’s syndrome; and infertility, alongside some mini biographies. They all share the perspective of the person who has undergone the trial, outlining the difficulties in coping with the particular problems and heartaches of the experience, as well as offering ways in which the author sought to cope with them. There is also a summary of sources of help and information about the condition, an invaluable timesaver for the reader.

Of special significance to readers of en is the inclusion of how to deal with the spiritual dimension of the illness. The author gives a chronological account of the progress of his father’s dementia and discusses his feelings and coping strategies. He is open about the things which, in hindsight, he could have done better.

He offers a brief overview of Biblical attitudes required when caring for sick or vulnerable people, along with Scriptures which focus on the Source of all help for the carer. The account of his unbelieving father’s simple but convincing acceptance of Jesus as his Saviour towards the very end (which is grounded in the example of the thief on the cross) is given as a wonderful example of the kindness and mercy of our God.

The author also knows that this is not to be presumed upon, but people with relatives who are analogously ‘impossible to reach’ would find encouragement from this. There are a few minor repetitions of information, which sometimes hinder smooth reading, but many finding themselves overwhelmed by a relative’s dementia diagnosis will give thanks for this helpfully practical and moving short book.