My Mother is Losing Her Memory, and I Am Losing My Mind: Parenting The Aging Parent
is the true story of a mother's journey through dementia told through the eyes of her caregiver daughter. Related with compassion and humor, it details the mother's fight to keep her independence and the family's decisions to keep her safe. Loss of control of her finances as well as her car is met with anger, and a fall which results in a broken hip and rehabilitation confirms that she cannot live alone. A concession to let her return to live in her own home with a caregiver results in disaster. The author's wide use of dialog gives the reader the opportunity to experience first hand the interaction between mother and daughter and see the difficulties that arise when someone is resistant to help. It also gives a clear picture of the decline of a person with dementia. Bjork provides a list of web sites and books that she recommends for information on dementia and Alzheimer's disease to serve as resources on caregiving, support groups and up-to-date scientific research on dementia related diseases. She also offers information on her blog kathybjork.com.