The Gap Between: Loving and Supporting Someone with Alzheimer's

Mary Moreland details her journey through the stages of grief as she comes to terms with her father's death, followed by her mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis. As her mother's disease progresses over eight years, Mary walks readers through the earliest phase and all the way to her mother's deathbed. She provides insightful advice on grieving and caring for loved ones with dementia or Alzheimer's, alongside her own story of loss.

ISBN-13: 9781612545554

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Brown Books Publishing Group

Publication Date: 06-21-2022

Pages: 194

Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

Mary Moreland is a lawyer living in Houston, Texas, and a single parent of two teenage sons. Together they share a dog, a cat, a turtle, and a fish. The bulk of Mary's twenty-five-year legal career has been spent working on transactions outside the United States, principally in Latin America. In addition to her transactional work, Mary has vast and deep knowledge of ethics and compliance matters, having served as chief compliance officer for two publicly traded international companies.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

1 Facts about Alzheimer's Disease 7

2 Diagnosis and Understanding 15

3 Communicating with Your Loved One 27

4 Supporting Children through the Alzheimer's Journey 41

5 Maximizing the Ability to Support Your Loved One: The Gift of Documentation 49

6 Choosing the Best Types of Care 61

7 Traveling with Your Alzheimer's Companion 75

8 Maximizing the Quality of Life 87

9 Accepting the Inevitable-The Alzheimer's Descent 107

10 Nourishing Mind, Body, and Spirit: Food, Self-Care, Appearance, Coping Strategies 125

11 Staying True to Your Loved One: End-of-Life Care 135

12 Saying Goodbye 149

13 When Caregiving Ends 163

Afterword 173

Notes 179

Bibliography 187

About the Author 193

Poems Jane P. Moreland

"The Progress of Grief" 5

"Bequest" 13

"A Visit" 25

"Thinning Zinnias" 39

"Wearing His Feet" 47

"Stepping Down the Light" 59

"Portulaca" 73

"Thrift" 85

"Prunings" 96

"On Your Astonishment" 105

"Token" 123

"Botanica" 133

"In Pine Shade" 147

"Weed" 161

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