Book Review: Travelers to Unimaginable Lands

care partner holds hands of woman with dementia

Review for Tablet Magazine by Norman Doidge

Travelers to Unimaginable Lands: Stories of Dementia, the Caregiver, and the Human Brain

A new book examines the complex relationship between the mind of someone with dementia and the mind of the person caring for them

Travelers to Unimaginable Lands is that rarity: true biblio-therapy. Lucid, mature, wise, with hardly a wasted word, it not only deepens our understanding of what transpires as we care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, it also has the potential to be powerfully therapeutic, offering the kind of support and reorientation so essential to the millions of people struggling with the long, often agonizing leave-taking of loved ones stricken with the dreaded disease. The book is based on a profound insight: the concept of “dementia blindness,” which identifies a singular problem of caring for people with dementia disorders—one that has generally escaped notice but, once understood, may make a significant difference for many caregivers.

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