Find my review at LenaMayBooks

Keeping Love Alive as Memories Fade takes the phenomenon that struck the world, The Five Love Languages, and merges it with The Alzheimer’s journey. Author and creator of the The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman, teams up with Edward G. Shaw and Debbie Barr to create a book for anyone affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia. Together this team of a healthcare provider, a relationship expert and a caregiver will bring you into the world of this disease and show you how love can make a huge difference in the person with Alzheimer’s and their loved one’s lives.

My nana is one of five siblings and falls right into the middle of them, age wise. Her oldest sister has advanced Alzheimer’s, at age 87 and I saw her for the first time in eight years this past weekend. The next oldest sister is the healthiest 86-year-old I’ve ever seen in my life. She’s still traveling the world and running a resort with three cabins. My nana, at age 85, is one of the healthiest people I’ve ever met. She was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia. The next sibling is their brother and at age 84, he’s the healthiest of them all. Finally, the youngest sister, who is now 82, seems to be doing just fine.

There is no rhyme or reason to Alzheimer’s disease; it affects millions of people worldwide. Spending time with my family this past weekend really put things into perspective for me. I had a basic idea of what to expect with my nana’s diagnosis, but I was ill prepared to see how far her sister had progressed within the confines of the disease. It shook my whole world apart, to witness where my nana is inevitably headed.

Keeping Love Alive as Memories Fade came to me at the perfect time. This book is filled with advice that I believe will alter the path of my interactions with my nana. It showed me how to love through the disease, how to find out the best course of showing love and affections, as well as gave me insight on how to make the future better. I plan to use this book through the course of our journey; use it as a resource and guide as needed. I’ll promptly be buying a copy for my mother to read, who is the caregiver to both of my grandparents.

If you know anyone who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease or if you are the caregiver or loved one to the affected person, I high suggest picking up this book. I firmly believe this will help you on your journey and show you how to interact with your loved one to make the most of all your time left with each other.

Thank you to netgalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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I originally chose this book because I'm still struggling with my own past experience with my grandmother's alzheimer's, and watching my family change as they tried to cope. I finally feel like I have understanding and closure. I also feel like I am more prepared to deal with it should it ever enter my life again. If alzheimer's has touched your life, past or present, or dementia is, I urge you to read this book. ( )