http://www.tworoadsbooks.com/books/where-memories-go-sally-magnusson/
30 JANUARY 2014
Mamie, Magnus and baby Sally Magnusson
Scottish broadcaster and author, Sally Magnusson, cared with her two sisters for her mother, Mamie, during her long struggle with dementia, until her death in 2012.
This moving and honest account of losing a loved one day by day to an insidious disease is both deeply personal and a challenging call to arms.
Faced with one of the greatest social, medical, economic and moral challenges of our times, society must urgently reconsider how we look after the most fragile of our citizens.
- See more at: http://www.tworoadsbooks.com/books/where-memories-go-sally-magnusson/#sthash.lL2x9FWu.dpufOne might suppose that I might have my own perspective to compare it to, but as well as succeeding in the Western world, in maintaining our physical health for so long that our brains cannot keep up, it seems that we've also become so disparate and far-flung that having the ability to care for our nearest and dearest is almost impossible.
Were it not for my mother who has resolutely and steadfastly been there 24/7 for the entirety of my father's illness and the willingness of my twin to postpone her life in Africa to support her in recent months, my Dad would have been cared for in a dementia unit of a care home a long time ago.
I therefore rely on periodic catchups with my mother on the phone between school runs and night shifts and an afternoon, when I can find it, to take my father down the road in his chair for some fresh air. These moments are precious, but they are no substitute for the insight gained from spending 24 hours a day caring for him and I hope to get some of that from this book.
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