Dementia Diary

A Care Giver's Journal

By: Robert Tell

Narrated by: John Eastman

For 15 years, Robert Tell was his widowed Mom's caregiver as her mind and personality disappeared into the fog of dementia. He tells the tale with compassion and humor in this full length, fast moving memoir. His lesson: Caregiver burnout can be helped.

Laugh and cry with him as he takes away her car keys, helps her move into tiny quarters with all her furniture, tries to undo mismanagement of her finances, and refuses to promise never to put her into a nursing home. One reviewer called it "a Neil Simon laugh and cry scenario."

If you are watching your loved one vanish into the sinkhole of Alzheimer's Disease (or another dementia), Dementia Diary will lift your spirits.

©2006 Robert Tell (P)2013 Robert Tell

keeping it real

Any caregiver who has the opportunity to spend time with someone who has dementia will appreciate this story. My mom has dementia and this story makes me laugh and cry. This story highlights the highs and lows that the family experiences while their loved one is progressing through dementia completely oblivious to departure from reality.
It is impressive that a male has taken the time to document the journey through this tumultuous period in a loved ones life. I think the story is well done and this recording is one of a few out there that keeps the reality of being a caregiver real.

It made me laugh & cry, while helping me approach things differently.

I loved it! A much needed positive, but realistic walk through the daily struggles a caregiver has while taking care of a loved one with Dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Too Lighthearted

This book is a vastly glossed over summary of one person's experience with a Mom with dementia. The reality is, it's nothing you could narrate in such a lilting way for most of us. It's gritty and painful, for all involved. It is as painful as it gets when you're in charge of a stubborn, angry, paranoid parent you wish with all your heart would have just one good day, despite your efforts. It's frustrating and sad beyond belief. This, though somewhat stated, simply did not translate in this book.