The Loss of Self: A Family Resource for the Care of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders

by Donna Cohen Ph.D., Carl Eisdorfer Ph.D.

Overview

A tremendous resource for all those grappling with Alzheimer's disease, including patients, families, caregivers, and professionals.

This fully revised and updated edition gives the latest information on causes, preventive measures, diagnosis, treatment, and drugs. But The Loss of Self goes even further than the biological, medical, and social issues to explore the emotional challenges any person coping with Alzheimer's will experience. Personal stories give hope, dignity, and ideas for solving even the most difficult problems such as sexuality, violence, abuse, and family conflict. The Loss of Self speaks to those suffering from Alzheimer's and to family members wanting to understand how to help a relative and to meet their own needs over the long years of caring.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393323337
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	08/17/2002
Edition description:	Revised Edition
Pages:	462
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Donna Cohen is a professor in the Department of Aging and Mental Health at the University of South Florida.

Carl Eisdorfer is chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami.

What People are Saying About This

Michael Mullan

[A]n insightful resource for families and patients struggling with Alzheimer's ....an essential tool for patients, clinicians, and families.
— (Michael Mullan, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Roskamp Institute)

Editorial Reviews

[T]he most useful source of practical guidelines for the general care of patients with Alzheimer's disease yet to be published.

Irving S. Wright

[A]n insightful resource for families and patients struggling with Alzheimer's ....an essential tool for patients, clinicians, and families.

Michael Mullan

Anyone at all involved with Alzheimer's...should read this indispensable book.

Oliver Sacks

Despite greater public awareness and continued research, no cure for Alzeheimer's Disease has yet been found. However, Eisdorfer, president/chief executive officer of Montefiore Medical Center and professor of psychiatry and neurosciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Cohen, a gerontologist also affiliated with Montefiore and Einstein College, believe that these accounts of how families have coped with the debilitating disease may help other afflicted families to better manage the lives of the patient and themselves. The authors advise readers on developing and implementing a comprehensive, affordable life care plan to handle both practical and emotional matters. They discuss the sensitive relationships between doctor, family and patient, and the need to consider the interests of individual family members. The selection of a nursing home and chapters on dying and the cost of care complete this compassionate and sensible guidebook. (February 24)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The authors offer timely and necessary advice for the families of the more than two million Americans facing various dementias. The book reflects state of the art information as well as the authors' extensive experience in assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation for dementia patients and their families. Included is practical information on ``what to do after the diagnosis, where to go for help, . . . how to care for the patient at home, when to institutionalize the patient.'' Drug information provided in the text and an appendix is particularly useful. The authors' insights and their personalized narrative make the book very readable. Although some information is duplicated elsewhere, this is the most succinctly informative and inclusive book on the topic to date. For public libraries and subject collections. Nancy B. Burrell, M.L.S., IBID Inc., Sarasota, Fla.

Library Journal

In this update of the 1986 edition, Cohen (aging and mental health, U. of South Florida) and Eisdorfer (psychiatry, U. of Miami) interweave often poignant patient stories with discussion of Alzheimer issues from suspected causes, diagnosis, and treatment of the memory-robbing disease to coping tips for caregivers. Lists Internet resources, national and international Alzheimer organizations, and US federal and state agencies on aging. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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