The Best Dementia Books for Caregivers
There’s a common misconception about dementia, that it means a low quality of life for sufferers. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, thanks to some wonderful dementia books for caregivers, you can learn to care for your loved one living with dementia, communicate effectively with them, and ensure their quality of life.
What’s more, great dementia books for caregivers can help you best take care of yourself, ensuring you’re able to better care for your loved one and avoid the burnout that affects so many caregivers of those living with dementia.
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Why read dementia books for caregivers
If you’re like most Australians, your understanding of the various forms of dementia is probably limited. Because there are many different types of dementia, and their symptoms and causes vary, it’s no wonder that there is a lot of confusion about how to care for someone with dementia.
Thankfully, as research into dementia continues, many great dementia books for caregivers are available. These books on dementia – including books about Alzheimer’s disease and more - provide not only an insight into what you can expect from a dementia diagnosis, but how best to take care of them, ensure their quality of life, and maintain (and even strengthen) your relationship with a loved one living with dementia.
With over 2.6 million caregivers in Australia – and over 235,000 young caregivers – taking care of a loved one, patient, or client with a disability is something that is becoming more and more common. As a result, additional resources are opening up to assist caregivers with taking care of their loved ones as well as themselves. Many of the best books on dementia also give some great advice for avoiding burnout as a caregiver, and ensuring your own wellbeing when taking care of someone with dementia.
Our recommendations for dementia books for caregivers
The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Other Dementias, and Memory Loss by Nancy L. Mace & Peter V. RabinsDescribed as ‘the Bible’ of dementia care, The 36-Hour Day is now in its 6th edition, having been revised and edited with new information and practical tips for caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. The book helps families and caregivers to navigate caring for someone with dementia, including explaining the challenges they may face and symptoms to expect. It helpfully also takes a look at taking care of your own emotional needs as a caregiver.
Joanne Koenig Coste’s book takes a practical approach to caregiving, focusing on the emotional health of both carer and loved one living with dementia. Described as a comprehensive and easily accessible guide, Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s centres on enhancing communication between those caring and those receiving care, maintaining meaningful relationships and has proven a valuable tool for many thousands of caregivers and people living with dementia.
Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
In this book for dementia caregivers, cartoonist Roz Chast humorously captures the often-humourless topic of dementia, including the challenges, trials, and sometimes lighter moments that only caregivers of loved ones living with dementia could understand. The book covers such topics as starting difficult conversations with an elderly parent with dementia, to making tough decisions about end-of-life care. A breath of fresh air in the ongoing conversation about caring for someone with dementia, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? will not only enlighten you, but provide a few laughs as well.
Travel Well with Dementia: Essential Tips to Enjoy the Journey by Jan Dougherty
For many, receiving a diagnosis of dementia seems to mean never travelling again. Travel Well with Dementia teaches us that not only is that categorically untrue, but that travelling with a loved one living with dementia can be a joy for both carers and those receiving care. Packed with practical tips and useful strategies, the book helps to relieve the potential challenges of travel for those living with dementia and instils in the reader confidence in their ability to stay engaged and create new and joyful experiences with their loved one who is living with dementia.
Activities to do with Your Parent who has Alzheimer’s Dementia by Judith A. Levy
Occupational therapist and daughter of a parent living with Alzheimer’s, Judith A. Levy uses both her personal experiences and professional expertise to brilliantly support readers in caring for a loved one living with dementia. She shares a range of activities that not only promote patients’ abilities to care for themselves, but that can be a lot of fun for loved ones and help them to engage more meaningfully with their loved one living with dementia. From keeping mobile, to socialising, to creating supportive environments for those living with dementia, to preventing caregiver burnout, Activities to do with Your Parent who has Alzheimer’s is a complete, go-to guide for caring for someone with dementia.
At Care For Family, we know that caring for a loved one with dementia can be challenging, and many caregivers feel underprepared for the trials that lay ahead. These books for caregivers give both family members and professional caregivers a range of valuable tools in caring for someone living with dementia, including understanding the disease, creating supportive environments, facilitating communication, having difficult conversations, and importantly, having fun and maintaining strong relationships.
For more information on how you can support your loved one living with dementia, including in-home care services that support your loved one to live at home for as long as possible, reach out to our team today.
View our Dementia & Alzheimer's In-Home Care Services
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