Travelers to Unimaginable Lands

Stories of Dementia, the Caregiver, and the Human Brain

By: Dasha Kiper, Norman Doidge - introduction

Narrated by: Holly Linneman

These compelling case histories meld science and storytelling to illuminate the complex relationship between the mind of someone with dementia and the mind of the person caring for them.

“This book will forever change the way we see people with dementia disorders—and the people who care for them.”—Lori Gottlieb, author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

After getting a master’s degree in clinical psychology, Dasha Kiper became the live-in caregiver for a Holocaust survivor with Alzheimer’s disease. For a year, she endured the emotional strain of looking after a person whose condition disrupts the rules of time, order, and continuity. Inspired by her own experience and her work counseling caregivers in the subsequent decade, Kiper offers an entirely new way to understand the symbiotic relationship between patients and those tending to them. Her book is the first to examine how the workings of the “healthy” brain prevent us from adapting to and truly understanding the cognitively impaired one.

In these poignant but unsentimental stories of parents and children, husbands and wives, Kiper explores the existential dilemmas created by this disease: A man believes his wife is an impostor. A woman’s imaginary friendships drive a wedge between herself and her devoted husband. Another woman’s childhood trauma emerges to torment her son. A man’s sudden Catholic piety provokes his wife.

Why is taking care of a family member with dementia so difficult? Why do caregivers succumb to behaviors—arguing, blaming, insisting, taking symptoms personally—they know are counterproductive? Exploring the healthy brain’s intuitions and proclivities, Travelers to Unimaginable Lands reveals the neurological obstacles to caregiving, enumerating not only the terrible pressures the disease exerts on our closest relationships but offering solace and perspective as well.

Cover art credit: © 2022 C. Herscovici / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Storyline

Enjoyed entire book. Audio well done. Interesting character development. I could relate to many of emotions described as I, too, was a caregiver of someone with dementia.

A Godsend

This book articulates the mysterious dynamics around caring for a parent with dementia. The author sines a light on the inner struggles of the caregiver.

A ladle of water on a dry planet…

Invaluable for travelers on the rugged paths of those unimaginable lands and for the blind voyeurs who think they know.

Personal enrichment

Very good and informative description of personal struggles with caring for loved ones who have dementia

Validation, finally!

As a caregiver I totally related to the stories told. I finally found validation for all my emotions related to caregiving. Now I understand why. Although, I’m not fully sure what I should be doing differently.