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For Immediate Release BEYOND ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH—THE UNTOLD STORY OF HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT A CURE |
Most often, the news about Alzheimer’s disease revolves around the progress (or lack of it) toward finding a cure for this debilitating disease. With the prospects for a cure still at least 10 years away, however, the millions of people who are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease today are interested in a different kind of news: What can be done to ease their daily challenges as caregivers? A new book, Navigating the Alzheimer’s Journey: A Compass for Caregiving, by Carol Bowlby Sifton, OTR (Health Professions Press, Baltimore), offers the practical advice, encouragement, and explanations that these growing numbers of caregivers seek. With an increasingly older population, people are becoming caregivers in record numbers. The trend affects people in all walks of life. A recent report even revealed that caring for an older spouse or parent no longer falls primarily to women; nearly half the people who acknowledge having caregiving responsibilities are men. Whatever their profile, the majority of people are ill equipped for the demands of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Navigating the Alzheimer’s Journey may be their salvation—a true compass for their caregiving journey. One strength of Navigating the Alzheimer’s Journey is its straightforward and sensitive explanation of how the disease affects individuals and how it contributes to the often mystifying, frustrating behaviors caregivers see in their loved ones. This knowledge can reduce caregiver stress and successfully head off upsetting incidents. While acknowledging the devastating effects of the disease—which include severe memory loss, disorientation, apathy, communication problems, and sometimes aggressive or abusive behavior—this compassionate book stresses the importance of recognizing and honoring the individual, and of maximizing the person’s remaining strengths rather than being consumed by the losses. Most valuable, author Carol Bowlby Sifton provides a wellspring of suggestions, often illustrated with stories from different caregivers’ experiences, about how to communicate more effectively, arrange the care environment, plan activities, provide personal care, and find needed help. Most resources on AD stress the tragedy of the disease and the extreme burden it places on caregivers. By contrast, Navigating the Alzheimer’s Journey shares the secrets for getting the most meaning and satisfaction out of an indisputably sad journey. This book is not based on a single caregivers’ experience, as are most books about AD, but rather grows out of the author’s lifelong professional experiences with people with AD and their caregivers, in addition to her personal caregiving experiences. A warm and engaging speaker, Ms. Bowlby Sifton is the founding editor of the widely acclaimed professional journal Alzheimer’s Care Quarterly and author of a former book on AD for professionals. Her training in occupational therapy has helped her focus on the importance of adapting the environment and how we interact with people with AD to maximize their ability to function as normally as possible for as long as possible throughout the course of the disease. # # # Interviews with the author can be scheduled by contacting Amy Perkins, Marketing Manager (Phone: 410-337-9585, 410-337-8539, Email: aperkins@healthpropress.com, Website: www.healthpropress.com). Review copies of Navigating the Alzheimer’s Journey are available on request.
Health Professions Press is a publisher of high-quality educational resources for professionals in the fields of aging, long-term care, and health services administration.
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