The Gap Between: Loving and Supporting Someone with Alzheimer's

by Mary Moreland

Overview

Mary Moreland details her journey through the stages of grief as she comes to terms with her father’s death, followed by her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. As her mother’s disease progresses over eight years, Mary walks readers through the earliest phase and all the way to her mother’s deathbed. She provides insightful advice on grieving and caring for loved ones with dementia or Alzheimer’s, alongside her own story of loss.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612545554
Publisher:	Brown Books Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/21/2022
Pages:	194
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Mary Moreland is a lawyer living in Houston, Texas, and a single parent of two teenage sons. Together they share a dog, a cat, a turtle, and a fish. The bulk of Mary's twenty-five-year legal career has been spent working on transactions outside the United States, principally in Latin America. In addition to her transactional work, Mary has vast and deep knowledge of ethics and compliance matters, having served as chief compliance officer for two publicly traded international companies.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

1 Facts about Alzheimer's Disease 7

2 Diagnosis and Understanding 15

3 Communicating with Your Loved One 27

4 Supporting Children through the Alzheimer's Journey 41

5 Maximizing the Ability to Support Your Loved One: The Gift of Documentation 49

6 Choosing the Best Types of Care 61

7 Traveling with Your Alzheimer's Companion 75

8 Maximizing the Quality of Life 87

9 Accepting the Inevitable-The Alzheimer's Descent 107

10 Nourishing Mind, Body, and Spirit: Food, Self-Care, Appearance, Coping Strategies 125

11 Staying True to Your Loved One: End-of-Life Care 135

12 Saying Goodbye 149

13 When Caregiving Ends 163

Afterword 173

Notes 179

Bibliography 187

About the Author 193

Poems Jane P. Moreland

"The Progress of Grief" 5

"Bequest" 13

"A Visit" 25

"Thinning Zinnias" 39

"Wearing His Feet" 47

"Stepping Down the Light" 59

"Portulaca" 73

"Thrift" 85

"Prunings" 96

"On Your Astonishment" 105

"Token" 123

"Botanica" 133

"In Pine Shade" 147

"Weed" 161

Editorial Reviews

"Moreland offers a realistic but reassuring message... a helpful book of common-sense guidance for people caring for someone with Alzheimer’s."—Kirkus Reviews


"I have been a caregiver for my own mother who has been living with Alzheimer's for over sixteen years. As I am currently walking her 'over the bridge' to her freedom from this horrible disease, I applaud Mary Moreland for her generosity and the authenticity she shares in her journey with her mother Jane. Knowing you're not alone and learning from others who have walked the same path before you is priceless. As is this book, The Gap Between."—Susie Singer Carter, Filmmaker of My Mom and the Girl, Host of Love Conquers Alz Podcast, Caregiver, Mother, and Daughter.


"Mary Moreland shares her caring experience and exposes the gaps that trip families up—like the emotional triggers that can stay a lifetime if we aren't prepared for them."—Lori La Bey, Founder of Alzheimer's Speaks and Co-Founder of Dementia Map

"The Gap Between is a must-read. Mary Moreland draws from her own personal experiences in dealing with her mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis and provides readers with valuable information to help them take care of their loved ones... The content is written in an accessible and engaging style that will appeal to a wide spectrum of readers."—Readers' Favorite (Five Star Review)

From the Publisher

2022-04-26
A Houston lawyer blends memoir and self-help in a guide to caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease.

In her first book, Moreland offers a realistic but reassuring message for people who are caring for parents or others with Alzheimer’s: The effort involves serious challenges, but “if you genuinely try your best, you should feel proud.” Aiming to help, she offers basic medical facts and coping strategies that draw on her experience of raising two Gen Z sons as a single mother while caring for a much-loved writer mother who died in 2020 after a decade with the disease. Moreland covers topics such as recognizing the warning signs of Alzheimer’s, communicating and traveling with someone who has it, making sure you have the needed legal documents, and finding end-of-life care. Some of her advice will be familiar to people who’ve read other books on the disease (“Tell people how to help you”; “Rest is important”). But Moreland’s personal stories add a unique and valuable dimension—especially her harrowing account of what happened after her mother tested positive for Covid-19 while in a nursing home, grew worse and required hospitalization, and the home then wouldn’t let her return until she’d tested negative for 14 days. Moreland’s mother, Jane P. Moreland, was a gifted poet, and her fine poems, interspersed throughout the text, further distinguish the book.

A helpful book of common-sense guidance for people caring for someone with Alzheimer’s.

Kirkus Reviews