The Diminished Mind: One Family's Extraordinary Battle with Alzheimer's: The Jean Tyler Story

The widow of a Massachusetts educator stricken with Alzheimer's at age 42 here eloquently tells of the relentless 15-year physical and mental deterioration leading to his death in 1986. With freelancer Anifantakis, Tyler traces the stages of her husband Manley's disease--from confusion and mood swings to violence and complete dependency--and its toll on her and their children. Describing what is involved in looking after an Alzheimer's patient, the book also suggests ways that care-givers, to survive the ordeal and its isolation, can maintain a personal life and family cohesion. Founder and president of the Western Massachusetts Alzheimer's Association, Tyler reveals her family's arduous struggle in order to awaken the public to the need for research into the disease and support for its many victims. (Feb.)