I Can't Remember: Family Stories of Alzheimer's Disease

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Review: ,Soc. Sci. Med. Vol. 47. No. 12. pp2139-21471998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain 0277-

I Can't Remember: Family Stories of Alzheimer's Disease, edited by Esther Strauss Smoller. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, PA, 1994. 134 pp. $24.95 (cloth).

The power of photography is revealed in this book of 4 photo essays about families who suffer from Alzheimer's Disease (AD). As the author makes clear in pictures and narrative. it is families and not just the Alzheimer's victim who experience the anxiety, fear, denial, uncertainty, pain and myriad losses that go hand-in-hand with AD. Smoller. a psychotherapist turned photographer. takes us into the lives of Lillian, her mother-in-law; Jim who has early onset AD; Sherry, Jim's wife and Jean, caregiver for her mother Louise. The four stories, told in the first person, provide narratives of the health problem; AD in a family fraught with discord; AD in a fairly young, large, active family who were able to live reasonably comfortably with Jim's AD; and AD in a family of two, mother and daughter, who counted their long-time good friends, another mother with AD/daughter combination, as family. In spite of the marital problems of Lillian and her husband and the un-camouflaged stress and strain of the other families. the story line of family love, dedication and devotion predominates. As good photo journalism should be able to do. the photos and the narrative can stand alone. each revealing a perspective on AD. The stories and photos form a mosaic and as a whole provide a clear and accurate view of AD and its effects on victims and their families. Particularly poignant are the words of Lillian and Jim, AD victims, as they struggle with the pain of losing their minds. It is rare that the victims themselves have a voice. Smoller invites us to see and feel both the victims' and the caregivers' pain and love. This book. whose proceeds go to the St. Louis Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, should be appreciated by professionals and families alike. The sights and sounds of AD speak to all of us.

University Of Florida College Of Nursing 653 West 8th Street Jacksonville FL 32209 USA PII: S0277-9536{98)00227-5

Sally Hutchinson

Temple University Press