New Every Day: Navigating Alzheimer's with Grace and Compassion

by Dave Meurer

Overview

Alzheimer's. It barges into your life, breaks your heart, bewilders your mind, disrupts your plans, impacts your finances, and consumes enormous amounts of time and energy. When someone you love has Alzheimer's, you need more than just information on the disease—you need a break. You need a laugh. You need a friend by your side who knows exactly what you're going through.

Award-winning humorist Dave M. Meurer is that friend. Packed with practical information—like how to get the DMV to take away the car keys or how you shouldn't insist on correcting your loved one's misperceptions—and plenty of true stories from his own experiences navigating life with a loved one who suffers from Alzheimer's, New Every Day offers hard-earned wisdom and even some badly needed comic relief for readers journeying down this difficult road. With compassion born of experience, Meurer helps caregivers develop the ability to relax, adapt, and even sometimes laugh again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780800734756
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/20/2018
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dave Meurer is an award-winning author and talented humor writer whose columns and articles are featured in major publications such as Focus on the Family, New Man, In Touch, Marriage Partnership, and HomeLife. He is a graduate of California State University at Chico and earned a dual degree in political science and information and communication studies. Dave is the dedicated husband to his wife, Dale, father of two boys, and a caregiver to his mother-in-law who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He lives in northern California where he serves as community liaison at Klamath River Renewal Corporation, undertaking the largest dam removal and river restoration project in United States history.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 11

1 Sweet Little Lies 13

2 Driven to Distraction 20

3 The Non-Chapter Note 25

4 The Runaway 27

5 This Is Not Normal 30

6 Money Matters 48

7 I'm Feeling Fine 56

8 Laughter Is Good for the Soul, Spleen, and Mental Health 64

9 Notable Techniques for Beating a Dead Horse 68

10 Dr. Finster's Miracle Dementia-B-Gone Elixir 72

11 This Is Going to Hurt 76

12 The Ebb and Flow of Dementia 82

13 Some Can and Do; Some Can't and Shouldn't 86

14 And Now a Few Words from Karin's Daughter 98

15 Practicing without a License 105

16 Playing for All This 110

17 Medicare and Medicaid-How They Will and Won't Help 129

18 Are You Smoking Something? 145

19 Am I Wasting My Time? 150

20 Patience Is a Virtue 154

21 Double Trouble 160

22 Moving In, Moving Out, Moving On 164

23 Independent (More or Less) Living 170

24 A$$isted Living 177

25 Hospice Is Not a Bad Word 193

26 They Call Me a Wanderer 196

27 Resentment, Fear, and Other Hazards of Caregiving 204

28 Don't Bail Out Now 211

29 A Life More Real Than This One 215

30 A Few Final Thoughts 221

Notes 225