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An Ocean of Time
The images of Alzheimer's - forgetting, madness, nursing homes-frighten us, make us want to walk the other way. But geriatric psychiatrist Patrick Mathiasen wants us to know that his images have slowly changed as he's worked around the edges of this "thief of memory." Where he once saw no more than the shell of a body, he now sees lives that have unfolded. And amid the undeniable sadness and difficulty, he encounters hope and humor and caring.
Dr. Mathiasen's patients tell his story, beginning with the earliest signs of the disease and passing through its stages right up to the end. And we meet a fascinating array of patients: a man who has taken pleasant refuge within his memories of playing baseball during his boyhood in pre-Castro Cuba; an art collector whose meticulous journal begins to make less and less sense as he falls into waters where his memories run together like ink on a page; two sons whose lifelong enmity for one another is put aside as they address themselves to their mother's need for them and for their love.
An Ocean of Time also offers insight into the science informing the treatment of Alzheimer's: how the diagnosis is made, how Alzheimer's often masquerades as severe clinical depression, and what promising research is being done in the field.
With Alzheimer's currently affecting close to 4 million people in the United States, this heartfelt rendering of its human face will be of enormous help both to those diagnosed with the disease and to those who love them.
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PATRICK MATHIASEN is medical director of the Northwest Hospital Geriatric Psychiatric Center as well as clinical instructor of psychiatry at the University of Washington. Dr. Mathiasen is currently serving as president of Washington State's Psychiatric Association for the 1997-1998 term. He resides in Seattle with his wife.
"In An Ocean of Time, Dr. Patrick Mathiasen beautifully shows how the devastation wrought by Alzheimer's disease can be ameliorated by compassion and understanding.' - Peter V Rabins, M.D., Co-author of The 36 Hour Day
"A compelling book that is filled with both pain and triumph, and most of all characterized by the rarest of qualities-wisdom and humanity . . . a truly excellent accomplishment." - Rabbi Dr. Earl A. Grollman, Author of When Someone You Love Has Alzheimer's: The Caregiver's Journey
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