Recently, I discovered a wonderful book by Oliver James called” Contented Dementia”, which I wished I had read a lot earlier. It describes the story of Penny Garner, a British housewife, who had a mother suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. From trial and error, she discovered a new form of communication which was successful in alleviating her mother’s feelings of anxiety, and she was able to keep her reasonably happy until the end.
Using her personal experience, she became involved with elderly patients at her local community hospital where she encouraged them to relive their old memories, and to create an imaginary world where their past became the foundation for a new reality.
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