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When Cindy Weinstein was studying to become a professor of literature, her father was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Her love of words was accompanied by his loss of words and much more. Finding the Right Words follows her decades-long journey, as a daughter and English professor, of coming to terms with her father’s dementia. She came to realize that though literature gave her a way to talk about her grief, she needed to learn the science of dementia to make sense of her father’s death. Her search to find the right person with whom to tell this story led her to Dr. Bruce Miller, neurologist and director of the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California, San Francisco.
Their book combines personal memoir, literature, and the science of brain health. In chapters of profound and sometimes humorous remembrance, she uses literature to describe the shock of her father’s diagnosis and his loss of language, spatial orientation, and identity. Bruce then describes the neurological processes that occur when a brain deteriorates. By doing so, he reflects upon his life as a physician and human being with his own experiences of loss and love. In a final chapter about memory, Cindy is able to remember her father before the diagnosis, and Bruce explains how the brain creates memories while sharing some of his own. Their two perspectives give a fuller understanding of Alzheimer’s disease than any one voice could.
Praise
“This graceful literary/scientific tag-team work by Cindy and Bruce provides an in-depth look into the valuable role of memory in our lives and the evolving science behind one of the most important systems of the human experience. Enriching!”
—Susan Schneider Williams, artist and advocate, as seen in Robin’s Wish
“Astutely drawing from literary masterpieces, Weinstein finds reflecting gems that illuminate her father through the haze of time before the slow erasure of his memory has come to cloud her recollection of the man. By her side is the voice of a compassionate neurologist who expertly guides us through the science of memory. A totally absorbing read.”
––Kenneth S. Kosik, MD, Harriman Professor of Neuroscience Research, University of California, Santa Barbara
“A book that brings humanity and science together is rare, but Finding the Right Words achieves this seamlessly and elegantly. Biography, diagnosis, history of behavioral neurology, and a daughter’s love converge to produce a deep understanding of how brain disease affects personhood. Read this book to understand how your brain creates your self.”
––Jeffrey Cummings, MD, ScD; Joy Chambers-Grundy Professor of Brain Science; University of Nevada, Las Vegas
“In Finding the Right Words, science meets literature and both are enhanced and enriched by this creative encounter. Using a mix of storytelling and metaphor and her deep love of literature, a writer comes to terms with the loss of her father to Alzheimer’s disease by reconnecting deeply with childhood memories. Autobiographical recollections are enriched by literature and the juxtaposition of the scientist’s explanation of how Alzheimer’s disease and trauma can affect the brain’s memory circuitry and the positive effects that art, literacy and literature can have on brain health. Weinstein and Miller succeed in merging brain science, literature and great storytelling to help us understand what happens to the person and the brain in Alzheimer’s disease. A must read for all that believe we must break down the silos between science and the humanities to fully appreciate what it means to live with Alzheimer’s disease.”
––Brian Lawlor, psychiatrist, Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin
“This book is a daughter’s poignant act of mourning for the father she lost decades ago to Alzheimer’s disease. But it is also a compelling and much-needed dialog between a bereft family member and a doctor who understands not only the medical, but also the social emotional tolls of illness.”
––Rachel E. Adams, English professor, Columbia University, and author of Raising Henry: A Memoir of Motherhood, Disability, and Discovery
“‘Together we can do so much,’ wrote Helen Keller. In this moving book, Cindy Weinstein, a literary critic, and Bruce Miller, a neurologist, combine forces. The former moves from brain (her father’s) to story; the latter, from story (Cindy’s) to brain. From this collaborative circuit comes a new kind of felt knowledge.”
––Ralph James Savarese, author of See It Feelingly: Classic Novels, Autistic Readers, and the Schooling of a No-Good English Professor
“With neurologist Bruce L. Miller’s illuminating medical commentary, Cindy Weinstein’s narrative is at once informative and moving, useful and heartbreaking. Clinicians, family members of those with memory disorders, and readers of memoir and scientific nonfiction alike will feel privileged to experience this rich conversation.”
––Suzanne Koven MD, MFA Primary Care Physician and Writer-in-Residence, Massachusetts General Hospital, author of Letter to a Young Female Physician, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
“Combining the impassioned personal reflections of a daughter who lost her father to Alzheimer’s twenty-five years ago with an erudite commentary on the scientific understanding of neurodegenerative diseases by a neuroscientist who is a leader in the field, this book is a powerful and innovative collaboration. A poignant, lyrical marriage of humanities and sciences.”
—Farhat Husain, MD, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
“A nuanced, two-dimensional take on memory and memory loss. This multifaceted book is both innovative and accessible.”
—Vaidehi Ramanathan, University of California, Davis
“This book beautifully blends the story of a daughter’s grief with literary references and information about dementia from an empathetic clinician. A compelling story that will likely touch many who have lived through the loss of a family member with dementia.”
—Anne M. Kenny, MD, Emerita Professor, University of Connecticut, author of Making Tough Decisions about End-of-Life Care in Dementia
“Using an interdisciplinary process, this appealing book aims to help families deal with a relative afflicted by dementia. Weinstein and Miller do a nice job interweaving personal anecdotes and science.”
—Muriel R. Gillick, MD, Harvard Medical School, author of The Caregiver’s Encyclopedia: A Compassionate Guide to Caring for Older Adults