Book Review: Understanding the Dementia Experience
By Mayra E. Salgado
Jennifer Ghent-Fuller has emerged as a leader and innovator in dementia care. Her expertise and insight have enabled her to counsel and educate individuals with dementia, as well as their families, friends, and caregivers. The motivation to inform people about the nature of dementia and its emotional and psychological impacts led her to write Thoughtful Dementia Care: Understanding the Dementia Experience (2012). This book seeks to illuminate on the complexities of dementia and deepen readers' understanding of the challenges faced by those with dementia and their caregivers.
The author touches on key themes of dementia, i.e., emotional changes, memory decline, and cognitive shifts. However, she also writes about everyday struggles on how a mundane task can be overwhelming and horrifying because of the disease. She gives individual examples that further highlight the emotional and grief-related conflicts found within memory and cognitive processes and perception.
It is clear that the author put great respect and care into writing the book; Ghent-Fuller ensured that the topics addressed were those commonly experienced by caregivers. She mentioned that she wrote this book for all caregivers to understand, including those whose first language is not English. The use of scientific and medical terminology was generally avoided or carefully defined (Ghent-Fuller, 2012). It is rare for authors of scientific books to write in a manner that is comprehensible for everyone: academics, caregivers, and the general audience.
I highly recommend Thoughtful Dementia Care: Understanding the Dementia Experience by Jennifer Ghent-Fuller for all those whose lives have been touched by dementia. Not only can you learn about its complexities, but you can also begin to understand the struggles caregivers must go through.
About the Author
Mayra Elena Salgado immigrated from a small developing country, Honduras, to the United States of America at the age of nine. From a young age, it has been her ultimate ambition to be the best in every academic setting. She has been admitted to prestigious societies such as Phi Theta Kappa, the Alpha Society of UTC, and Honor programs because of her high grades and research efforts. She recently graduated with the highest honors from the University of Tennessee of Chattanooga. She is using her B.S. in psychology to work in a non-profit as a coordinator for the Family Support Program. She intends to continue her education by earning a Master's degree and then a Doctorate. Her goal is to work as a neuropsychologist and contribute consistently to psychological research.