“Conversations with Ed” Offers First-Person Insight on Life with Alzheimer’s

SAN FRANCISCO--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--A radically different perspective of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, permeates the pages of a new book entitled “Conversations with Ed - Waiting for Forgetfulness: Why Are We So Afraid of Alzheimer's Disease?” Written by aging experts Dr. Nader Shabahangi and Dr. Patrick Fox, and Ed Voris, a person with Alzheimer’s disease, the book looks at the progressive form of dementia from the inside out, taking a different perspective than the current, stereotypical viewpoint.

“Conversations with Ed - Waiting for Forgetfulness: Why Are We So Afraid of Alzheimer's Disease?”

The new title, released by Elders Academy Press during Alzheimer’s Awareness Month in November, takes an insightful, often humorous and always poignant look at one man’s journey into forgetfulness--otherwise known as Alzheimer’s. “Since Ed was diagnosed with dementia at age 73, he has learned to overcome his anger and frustration about forgetfulness and discovered that he had been given a unique gift to learn what is really important in life, and who his true friends are,” said Nader Shabahangi, PhD, author, expert on aging, and CEO of AgeSong Senior Communities in San Francisco Bay Area.

For about six months, Ed talked with Dr. Shabahangi and Patrick Fox, PhD, co-director of the Institute for Health & Aging (IHA), and professor of sociology at University of California, San Francisco. What emerged from those recorded sessions is an illuminating book that offers a unique perspective on forgetfulness and those who live with it.

“Family and friends who read this book may be surprised and relieved to learn that the attitude of the person with Alzheimer’s can be at odds with society’s stereotypical, ingrained fear of this condition,” added Shabahangi. With more than five million people in the United States living with this expression of dementia, co-authors hope that readers will pause and think about some of the following questions and forgetfulness:

• Why are we so afraid of Alzheimer’s disease? What is the “gift” of Alzheimer’s?
• How can we as families, societies, caregivers, change our attitudes in a way that enhances the lives of our loved ones living with dementia?
• Why is a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia seen only as a medical issue and why is support for behavioral therapy underfunded?
• How will Alzheimer’s fundamentally change our definition of “adult community” in the coming decades?
• How can families be inclusive of those with Alzheimer’s in daily lives, holiday celebrations, and family milestones?

“Until now, most Alzheimer’s books have focused on how to treat the disease,” said Dr. Shabahangi. “‘Conversations with Ed’ rejects such a one-sided view of forgetfulness and demystifies the condition by offering readers rare access to Ed’s own experiences and perceptions.”

Conversations with Ed (Elders Academy Press; October 2009) by Ed Voris, Nader Shabahangi and Patrick Fox. Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9816248-1-5 / Retail Price $19.50 / Hardcover ISBN: 978-09816248-0-8 / Retail Price $25.50 / Available on www.Amazon.com or www.AgeSong.com.

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