Review of "Alzheimer's"
By Vivienne UlmanScribe Publications, 2010
Review by Tijuana L. Canders on Aug 9th 2011
An author, journalist, and book reviewer herself, Vivienne Ulman shares the story of her mother's struggles and battles with Alzheimer's. Unforgettable moments are penned into existence through separate sections of Vivienne's written letters to her mother, diaries of treatments, and informative written outlines of the family's experience. Aspects of her family's hard work, Jewish heritage, community and religion along with their roles in social justice were sound boards and preparation of memories for themselves before, during, and after the silent disease Alzheimer's, introduced itself to her beloved mother Lucy Tugend. Where the Communist Party threatened control and the Menzies Liberal Government wanted to ban such acts, the Tugend family sought peace through receptive meetings between the two parties for common ground.
Lucy Tugend considered to be a balabosta woman of her time, a Yiddish term for, "one who raised housekeeping to the level of an Olympic sport" provided nurture to her children, strength to her husband Saul Tugend and provided a spotless kitchen, gourmet feasts, all while wearing lipstick, French perfume and an apron. Preparing the Jewish Ceder Celebration, Passover Feasts, along with Challahs and Matzah balls were her signatures. Upholding her husband and quieting her children so his soul would be quieted and not overflowed, during his paths of setbacks, to breakthroughs, gave him the sustainable strength he needed in leading his family. Her words of encouragement became the foundation for the growth in their relationship and later the backbone for Vivienne's growth before the onset of her battling Alzheimer's. Vivenne Ulman describes a woman of exquisite contour in dress, with a business mind like her husband, and nurturer of other marriages as a counselor who beset her own family before anything else, through hands on shaping and molding, deteriorate in speech, perception, thought, mind, body, and soul until the end was apparent, near, and unavoidable.
While Vivienne notices changes in her mother's behavior and though Saul Tugend, a gentle man in spirit, refuses to believe such an onset was the case of his wife's absentmindedness, it is only after seeking a neurologist and the diagnosis is met that Saul Tugend absorbs that his wife is suffering from the illness and Ulman finds relief that there is a name to her mother's setbacks. While Ulman absorbs the information she realizes that she will now know another Lucy Tugend and that the woman she once knew was somewhere hidden behind the new Lucy Tugend in thought, words, and actions. Her love for her mother never wavered but the intensity of the disease caused a flow of emotions to face within Ulman including her future worries and perceptions of developing the disease herself. A longing for her mother's love grew within her with each passing stage of the silent disease and only grasping the concept of her own memories through reliving moments mentally and writing relieved the final known outcome and aided Ulman in a more personal growth.
Alzheimer's: A Love Story should be shared with anyone wanting to be aware of this disease. Ulman shows her family's life wrapped in love and endurance to the tribute of her loved mother. A must read.
© 2011 Tijuana L. Canders
Tijuana Canders, Canal Winchester, Ohio
Resources
-
Articles
- Introduction & Causes of Cognitive Disorders
- Dementia
-
Alzheimer's Disease
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Prevalence and Causes of Alzheimer's Disease
- Causes of Alzheimer's Disease Continued
- Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease
- Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease
- Warning Signs of Alzheimer's Disease
- Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease
- Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease - Imaging Procedures and Psychological Evaluation
- Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease - Neuropsychological Testing
- Treatment of Cognitive and Behavioral Symptoms associated with Alzheimer's Disease
- Research and Prognosis on Alzheimer's Disease
-
Other Cognitive Disorders
- Vascular Neurocognitive Disorder
- Vascular Neurocognitive Disorder Continued
- Lewy Body Dementia
- Symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia
- Diagnosis and Treatment of Lewy Body Dementia
- Reversible Cognitive Disorder - Dementia Syndrome of Depression
- Neurocognitive Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition
- Reversible Cognitive Disorder - Delirium
- Prevention of Dementia and Other Cognitive Disorders
-
Dementia Coping Skills & Behavior Management
- Coping Skills for Those With Dementia
- Coping Skills for Dementia Caregivers
- Services for Dementia Caregivers
- Communication Tips for Dementia Caregivers
- Behavioral Management for Dementia Caregivers
- Behavioral Management for Dementia Caregivers Continued
- Tips for Dealing with Specific Dementia Problematic Behaviors
- Tips for Dealing with Specific Dementia Problematic Behaviors Continued
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Conclusion and Resources
-
News
-
Questions and Answers
-
Book & Media Reviews
- Alive with Alzheimer's
- Alzheimer's
- Days With My Father
- Decision Making, Personhood and Dementia
- Dementia
- Dementia Caregivers Share Their Stories
- Hearing the Person With Dementia
- How We Think About Dementia
- Inside Assisted Living
- Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early Alzheimer's Disease
-
16 more
- Mom's OK, She Just Forgets
- My Book about Brains, Change and Dementia
- Nothing about us, without us!
- Remembering Home
- Rights, Risk and Restraint-Free Care of Older People
- Speaking Our Minds: Revised Edition
- Still Alice
- Telling Tales About Dementia
- The Almost Moon
- The Emotional Journey of the Alzheimer's Family
- The Enduring Self in People with Alzheimer's
- The Story of My Father
- Voices Of Alzheimer's
- When It Gets Dark
- When Someone You Know Is Living in a Dementia Care Community
- Wrinkles
-
Links
-
Videos
- Overview of Dementia with Lewy Bodies
- Common Challenges: Driving
- Diagnosis and Management of Vascular Dementia
- Difference Between Alzheimer's and Dementia
- Why Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease Matters
- Looking Beyond Alzheimer’s Disease: An Overview of Other Major Forms of Neurodegenerative Disease
- New Definition of Alzheimer’s Changes How Disease Is Researched
- Lewy Body Dementia: Most Common Disorder You’ve Never Heard Of
- Living With Traumatic Brain Injury
- Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease
-
37 more
- Seeing Alzheimer's in a New Way
- Inside Alzheimer’s disease
- Alzheimer's Screening
- Neurology: Testing for Alzheimer's
- Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiver Training: Sexually Inappropriate Behaviors
- Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiver Training: Depression/Apathy
- Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiver Training: Agitation and Anxiety
- Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiver Training: Aggressive Language/Behavior
- Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiver Training: Sleep Disturbances
- Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiver Training: Repetitive Phone Calls
- Alzheimer's and Dementia Caregiver Training: Home Safety
- Best Practices & Emerging Therapies for Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease
- Recognizing the Early Signs of Dementia
- Effective Treatments and Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease: The Time is Now - Research on Aging
- Dementia – it affects us all
- Falls Prevention in People with Dementia
- Caregiver Training Part I: Introduction
- Caregiver Training Part II: Hallucinations
- Caregiver Training Part III: Refusal to Bathe
- Caregiver Training Part IV: Refusal to Take Medication
- Caregiver Training Part V: Repetitive Behaviors
- Caregiver Training Part VI: Repetitive Questions
- Caregiver Training Part VII: Sundowning
- Caregiver Training Part VIII: Wandering
- The Benefits of Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease
- A New Way To Look At Alzheimer's
- The Healing Power of Music
- Falls Prevention in People with Dementia
- Falls Prevention in People with Dementia
- Protecting & Caring for Patients with Dementia
- Dementia 101 in 101 Seconds
- Normal and Abnormal Aging and the Brain
- Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease
- Aggressive Behavior in People with Dementia
- Diagnosing Alzheimer’s
- Signs of Alzheimer’s
- Practical Tips for Travelling with a Loved One with Alzheimer's Disease
-
More Information
Topics
-
Related Topic Centers
-
Addictions
-
Aging & Elder Care
-
Assessments & Interventions
-
Career & Workplace
-
Emotional Well-Being
-
Life Issues
-
Parenting & Child Care
-
Abuse
-
ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
-
Adoption
-
Autism
-
Child & Adolescent Development: Overview
-
Child & Adolescent Development: Puberty
-
Child Development & Parenting: Early (3-7)
-
Child Development & Parenting: Infants (0-2)
-
Child Development & Parenting: Middle (8-11)
-
Child Development & Parenting:Adolescence (12-24)
-
Child Development Theory: Adolescence (12-24)
-
Child Development Theory: Middle Childhood (8-11)
-
Childhood Mental Disorders and Illnesses
-
Childhood Special Education
-
Divorce
-
Family & Relationship Issues
-
Intellectual Disabilities
-
Learning Disorders
-
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
-
Parenting
-
Self Esteem
-
-
Psychological Disorders
-
Anxiety Disorders
-
Bipolar Disorder
-
Conversion Disorders
-
Depression: Depression & Related Conditions
-
Dissociative Disorders
-
Domestic Violence and Rape
-
Eating Disorders
-
Impulse Control Disorders
-
Intellectual Disabilities
-
Mental Disorders
-
Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
-
Personality Disorders
-
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
-
Schizophrenia
-
Sexual Disorders
-
Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders
-
Suicide
-
Tourettes and other Tic Disorders
-