Foreword by Barry Petersen
ISBN 978-0-9825751-2-3
TrueWind Press ©2014
218 pages
Click the cover to look inside.
In this moving and accessible book, author Mary Cail offers step-by-step instructions for comforting those with Alzheimer's disease, and for supporting family members who provide ongoing care. Compelling stories illustrate the challenges of dementia: from Velma, an Arkansas sharecropper's daughter, to Willa, a physician once nominated for Surgeon General, and many more. Cail uses insightful strategies and “do and don't” conversation guides to deliver a realistic message of help and hope in a clear, sympathetic voice. Filled with practical and empowering advice, this book is essential reading for friends and loved ones, as well as concerned professionals and community members.
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Alz Book Testimonials
“Timely and concise, this essential book shows how to help a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or a caregiver on the frontlines. Brimming with compelling stories and practical advice, this guidebook will make an immediate and important difference in the lives of readers everywhere. As a survivor herself, Dr. Cail truly knows the subject and brings meaningful insight into the power of family and friends in hard times.”
Ben Sherwood, writer, journalist, and producer, former president of Disney-ABC Television Group and ABC News, author of The Survivors Club
“This fine, compassionate book is more than a guide to coping with Alzheimer’s—It’s a reminder of what it is to be human, and what it is to be a friend.”
David Hyde Pierce, Alzheimer’s advocate, Emmy Award winning actor and comedian
“Mary Cail’s book shows how to make friendships with Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers easy and rewarding, even during the late stage, which is so often hidden from the world. The book’s epilogue is a game changer in terms of presuming to know with accuracy what perceptions fill the minds of patients who are unresponsive due to brain dysfunction or Alzheimer’s disease. Friendship and even simple companionship are valuable at all stages of Alzheimer’s disease.”
Sam Gandy, MD, PhD, Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Cognitive Health, Director of the NFL Neurological Center, Mount Sinai Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease Research, Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine
“A novel yet practical approach wrapped up in a blessedly brief, all-stages guide for friends and family eager to communicate with Alzheimer’s and their families. Gentle, wise, compassionate dialogues offer creative options with explanations to break through typical language and thinking barriers. All-Weather Friends will be prepared to offer just the right stuff at the right times to make a difference.”
Lisa P. Gwyther, MSW, LCSW, Director of the Duke Family Support Program and coauthor of The Alzheimer’s Action Plan: A Family Guide
“Well-written and compelling. An accurate portrayal for the person who wants to understand the experience of Alzheimer’s disease from the perspective of both patient and carer.”
Steven T. DeKosky, MD, recipient of the Rita Hayworth Award from the Alzheimer’s Association, recipient of the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Institute Award, former chair of the Alzheimer’s Association Medical and Scientific Advisory Council, Aerts-Cosper Professor of Alzheimer’s Research, Deputy Director of the McKnight Brain Institute, Professor of Neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine
“…offers important and effective strategies that can empower family members…Mary Cail’s book will help caregivers and patients feel more confident and closer to each other as they struggle to cope with this relentless disease.”
Gary Small, MD, Director of the UCLA Longevity Center, author(most recently) of The Small Guide to Alzheimer’s Disease.
“An excellent, readable, fast-paced resource—unlike anything else on the market. I believe it will make a tremendous difference to people who must face this terrible disease.”
Sue Friedman, President and CEO, Alzheimer’s Association, Central and Western Virginia
“Being a caregiver can be an extremely lonely journey. Mary Cail’s book contains lots of great ideas for how to support caregivers. I will never forget the kindness of friends who were there for both my dad and me until the end. But other people abruptly disappeared, or worse, tried to ‘correct’ my dad’s thinking, which only increased his frustration. People would like to help but just don’t know what to do. I’ve spent many years doing nearly round-the-clock caregiving. I have read a lot on this topic. Alzheimer’s: A Crash Course for Friends and Relatives covers how to support caregivers better than anything else I’ve read.”
Carol Kelly, PhD, Board President, A Helping Hand, Durham, NC
“An insightful, beautifully written guide that tells how to support and comfort friends dealing with Alzheimer’s disease as either patients or caregivers. It provides a viable answer to the social isolation which so often becomes a part of dementia.”
Ellen Phipps, CTRS, MSG, Gerontologist, Co-Author of Connections: Engagement in Life for Persons with Dementia, A Complete Activities Guide; Vice President of Programs & Public Policy at the Alzheimer’s Association, Central & Western Virginia Chapter; and, adjunct faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University.
“After my diagnosis [with younger onset Alzheimer’s], many of my friends didn’t know what to say to me. They thought, and some still do, that I couldn’t think for myself, that I couldn’t understand them, and they would talk around me, not to me. If I had had this book then, I would have given each one a copy and asked them to read it. As I read this book, my thoughts were—finally someone gets it and can make it easier on everyone.”
Kris Bakowski, speaker and Alzheimer’s advocate, national spokesperson for the Alzheimer’s Association
“A sensitive and well-researched resource for ‘all-weather friends’: caregivers, friends, family or professionals.” [Full review of the first edition of Mary's book in Activities, Adaptation & Aging, Vol 38, No. 3, 2014.]
Cheryl Osborne, EdD, MSN, RN, FAGHE, Director of Gerontology, Professor of Gerontology and Nursing, California State University Sacramento
“As an academic physician with a clinical practice in family medicine, I see many patients affected by Alzheimer’s disease. They often suffer from social isolation, frustration and exhaustion, which are parts of the devastating condition physicians cannot directly treat. Alzheimer’s: A Crash Course for Friends and Relatives is a compelling, easily readable book that skillfully addresses these problems with accurate information and practical advice.”
Andrea Nazar, DO, Professor of Clinical Science, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
“It’s a beautiful book, and I’m glad I read it.”
2015 Virginia Festival of the Book
Virginia Festival of the Book interview
Sue Friedman, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, CVWV, Mary Cail, and Jane Foy, program host, WINA Charlottesville
“A lovely, beautifully written, very conversational type of book sharing a lot of information about what to do if you’re the friend of someone dealing with Alzheimer’s. ”