LibGuides: Alzheimer's Disease: About Alzheimer's Disease

About Alzheimer's Disease

Health Sciences Librarian

Joanna Russell Bliss

she/her

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Dallas Library Center, T. Boone Pickens Institute of Health Sciences

214-689-6585

Subjects: Health Care Administration, Nursing, Occupational Therapy

What Is Alzheimer's Disease?

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, a decline in mental ability, memory and reasoning.

Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures
More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, and 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia. This leads to millions of caregivers often giving unpaid care to provide for these aging adults unable to care for themselves.

Alzheimer's disease is not a typical part of aging; it involves cognitive changes in the brain. Caregivers — both healthcare providers and family members — benefit greatly from learning about the disease, how it progresses, and particularly how to communicate with someone with Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's Resources

2023 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures
A statistical resource for U.S. data related to Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia. Created by the Alzheimer's Association.

Alzheimer's Disease: New Beginnings by G. Perry (Editor); J. Avila (Editor); P. I. Moreira (Editor)
Focuses on the future promise for therapeutic breakthroughs in light of notable clinical trial failures.
Alzheimer's in America by Maria Shriver *
Presents current trends in thinking about Alzheimer's, examines cutting-edge medical research, and looks at the societal impacts of the disease.
Dementia by Patrick McNamara (Editor)
Provides a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art clinical phenomenology, mechanisms, and treatment strategies for the major dementias, including Alzheimer's disease, across three volumes.
Living with Alzheimer's by Renée L. Beard
Through intensive observations of nearly 100 seniors undergoing cognitive evaluation, as well as post-diagnosis interviews with individuals experiencing late-in-life forgetfulness, the author examines how the perceptions of dementia and patients with Alzheimer's affect treatment.
The Poetics and Politics of Alzheimer's Disease Life-Writing by Martina Zimmermann
An exploration of the thoughts and experiences expressed by dementia patients in published narratives, contrasting third-person caregiver and first-person patient accounts from different languages and a range of media, focusing on the poetical and political questions these narratives raise.
Understanding Alzheimer's Disease : What You Need to Know by National Institute on Aging and National Institutes of Health
Written for families and patients dealing with this disease, this easy-to-read booklet will help readers learn about Alzheimer's disease, its symptoms and treatments, when to see the doctor, research studies, and where caregivers can get help.
Understanding the Brain DVD & Coursebook by Jeanette Norden *
Features a variety of lectures on how the brain and central nervous system work. It includes two lectures on Alzheimer's disease.

* All titles marked with an asterisk are on display at the Dallas Library Center during Alzheimer's Awareness Month.

Memoirs

Alzheimer's: A Love Story by Vivienne Ulman
Records with tender lyricism and searing honesty the progress of the author's mother's Alzheimer's, her own grief over the gradual loss of her beloved mother, and the way in which her parents' enduring love for each other sustained them.
The Caregiver by Aaron Alterra; Arthur Kleinman (Foreword by) *
Combining medical research on the disease and often-painful anecdotes of memory loss, deteriorating motor functions, personality shifts, support-group and daycare experiences, and drug trials, Alterra chronicles his transformation from husband to caregiver after his wife's diagnosis.
Do I Look at You With Love? Reimagining the Story of Dementia by Mark Freeman
Explores the experience of dementia as it transpired during the course of the final twelve years of the life of the author’s mother, from the time of her diagnosis until her death in 2016 at age 93.
Keeper: One House, Three Generations, and a Journey into Alzheimer's by Andrea Gillies *
Charts the journey of the author's mother-in-law into dementia, along with its impact on her personality and her family, while the author researches about what dementia is.
Tangles by Sarah Leavitt *
Reveals how Alzheimer's disease transformed the author's mother, Midge, and her family forever, through spare black-and- white drawings and clear, candid prose.

Novels

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
Blending flashbacks, dreams, and Native American legends, this book is a suspenseful love story and a moving exploration of life's largest commitments.
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
A celebration of how passion can be ageless and timeless, a tale that moves us to laughter and tears and makes us believe in true love all over again.
Unbecoming by Jenny Downham *
Life has just become very complicated for seventeen-year-old Katie; her father walked out a year ago, her mother is stressed out, her brother is a "special needs" teenager, and she is caring for the maternal grandmother she has never met, who is suffering from Alzheimer's -- and Katie has a secret of her own that she cannot reveal.

* All titles marked with an asterisk are on display at the Dallas Library Center during Alzheimer's Awareness Month.

5 Things I’m Glad I Did for My Dad With Alzheimer’s Disease
Written by a former caregiver of a parent with Alzheimer's, this article offers advice on how they managed their father's descent into Alzheimer's. Posted on the AARP's website.
A Place for Mom
This service (paid for by member facilities) can help caregivers navigate how to select a memory care facility for a loved one.
Alzheimer's Association: Help and Support
Offers many helpful resources for caregivers, including information on the disease, how to care for loved ones as the disease progresses, and how to care for oneself while also acting as a primary caregiver.

Make a Memory Book
Create a memory book to help loved ones remember their history.

At Wit's End by George Kraus
A straightforward summary of leading advice for understanding and caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease, written without technical jargon and impractical nuance.
Care Giving for Alzheimer's Disease by Verna Benner Carson; Katherine Johnson Vanderhorst; Harold G. Koenig
Offers a unique framework for understanding the psychological origins of behaviors typical of Alzheimer's and other dementias, and for providing appropriate care for patients as they decline.
Creating Moments of Joy Along the Alzheimer's Journey by Jolene Brackey
Filled with practical advice sprinkled with hope, encouragement, new stories, and generous helpings of humor.
The Dementia Caregiver by Marc E. Agronin
Guides readers through a better understanding of the changes their loved one may be going through, and helps them tap into the various resources available to them as they embark on an uncertain caregiving journey.
Long-Term Care: How to Plan and Pay for It by Joseph Matthews *
Presents all the information consumers need to make the best choices for long-term care, such as how to protect assets, arrange home health care, find nursing and non-nursing home residences, rate nursing home insurance policies, and understand Medicare, Medicaid and other benefit programs.

* All titles marked with an asterisk are on display at the Dallas Library Center during Alzheimer's Awareness Month.

The Alzheimer's Family by Robert B. Santulli *
Teaches clinicians how to navigate the many interpersonal issues at the heart of AD--that is, how to work with the families and friends of the patient.
The Enduring Self in People with Alzheimer's by Sam Fazio *
Demonstrates unequivocally that a person's unique self persists throughout the course of the disease, and emphasizes how much can be done in care settings to support a person's sense of identity, thereby enriching the lives of people experiencing the many losses associated with dementia.
Key Issues in Evolving Dementia Care by Anthea Innes (Editor); Louise McCabe (Editor); Fiona Kelly (Editor) *
Examines the ways in which dementia care is evolving around the globe.
MCI and Alzheimer's Dementia by Kathryn Bayles; Cheryl Tomoeda
Presents critical information about the cognitive-communicative disorders associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).
A Namaste Care Activity Book by Nicola Kendall
Offers compassionate care to people with advanced dementia through sensory input, comfort and pleasure, combining music, therapeutic touch, color, food and scents.
Nurse to Nurse: Dementia Care by Cynthia D. Steele *
Offers peer-to-peer guidance on how you can give the best possible care to dementia patients and their families.
Occupational Therapy and Dementia Care by Laura N. Gitlin; Mary Corcoran; American Occupational Therapy Association Staff (Contribution by)
Presents the Home Environmental Skill-Building Program (ESP), designed for occupational therapists; the guide is useful for learning strategies that can minimize environmental stressors in the home.
Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Adults with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Major Neurocognitive Disorders *
Serves as a resource for practitioners to find evidence-based interventions for clients with major neurocognitive disorders, provides a tool for advocacy with external audiences, and highlights areas for future research and inquiry.

* All titles marked with an asterisk are on display at the Dallas Library Center during Alzheimer's Awareness Month.

Dedication

This guide and its associated display at the Dallas Library Center were created in memory of Paul Russell, father of librarian Joanna Russell Bliss, who died of Alzheimer's in 2020.