4 Books to Read Today

Dementia and Human Rights

by Suzanne Cahill

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a crucial tool to ensure that people with disabilities are afforded the same rights and freedoms as everyone else. Currently, dementia is not considered a disability, therefore, people living with it are not provided equal rights and freedoms. This concept is at the root of Professor Suzanne Cahill’s book Dementia and Human Rights, which uses human rights as a lens to explore the policy and practices currently in place for people living with dementia as well as what still needs to change.

When I’m Not Me Anymore:
A Pre-Dementia Love Letter to My Daughters

by Rhonda Hoffman

Rhonda Hoffman spent years caring for her mother, Eileen, as she lived with dementia. The challenging and often painful experience served as inspiration for Hoffman’s book When I’m Not Me Anymore: A Pre-Dementia Love Letter to My Daughters. The book is a road map filled with the knowledge Hoffman gained from the experience of caring for her mother. It is also an opportunity to chronicle her memories, feelings and thoughts with her two daughters in case she also one day finds herself living with dementia.

Dementia from the Inside: A Doctor’s Personal Journey of Hope

by Dr. Jennifer Bute with Louise Morse

Dr. Jennifer Bute was working as a doctor in a large clinical practice that included people living with dementia, when she began to notice dementia-related symptoms in herself. In 2009, Bute was diagnosed with young-onset dementia. She resigned from her practice and began to learn whatever she could about how to slow the progression of the disease. Written with journalist Louise Morse, Dementia from the Inside is Bute’s practical and inspiring account of what it’s like to live with the disease. This book offers hopeful insight for people living with dementia.

Confessions of an Imperfect Caregiver

by Bobbi Carducci

For seven years, Bobbi Carducci lived with and cared for her father-in-law, Rodger. During that time, she learned how to navigate the health-care system while supporting
Rodger with his many health conditions, including schizophrenia, Parkinson’s, age-related dementia and more. Her book  Confessions of an Imperfect Caregiver chronicles those years with candour, humour and hope. Carducci’s book is a reminder of the emotional and physical toll many family caregivers experience daily and highlights the compassion and love required to provide quality care. [ ]