Do you know someone with dementia, or someone with a relative who has the disease? What did you think of the way the author portrayed Sally’s condition?

Book Clubs The Memory Library by Kate Storey Discussion
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Do you know someone with dementia, or someone with a relative who has the disease? What did you think of the way the author portrayed Sally’s condition?

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I believe the author portrayed Sally’s early dementia accurately. I watched my mother-in-law’s dementia slowly decline into Alzheimer’s disease. Like my mother-in-law, Sally was positive and faced her mental decline with courage. Me and our family initially didn’t understand the progression of her illness. Author, Kate Storey portrayed the slow decline into forgetfulness and confusion painstakingly without judgement.

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I think that the author portrayed Sally’s dementia with dignity and empathy. She also shed light on such a significant problem. My Mother-in-law had Alzheimers disease, and went through different stages, which seemed to be more difficult for my husband to deal with. At times, my Mother-In-Law didn’t seem to be aware of what was going on, and at other times, she was frustrated. It is a complex and tragic disease.

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I don’t know anyone with dementia well, but I do know some people with dementia from somewhat of a distance. This book helped me understand the condition better and gave me even more empathy for those who have it as well as for their loved ones. I was puzzled by Ella’s failure to recognize the signs, but Patti Davis (Ronald Reagan’s daughter) had a recent op ed in the New York Times that described the denial and difficulty that people face when a loved one has dementia or is experiencing other forms of decline. That made me rethink Ella’s situation and realize how hard it can be to acknowledge and recognize the early stages of cognitive decline (although I still do question her obtuseness in a few scenes).

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I do know someone close to me that was recently diagnosed with dementia. I think the author accurately portrayed Sally’s condition. It’s very heartbreaking to see someone begin to fade away.

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My mother-in-law died of dementia. I think the portrayal was quite valid. It seems to begin slowly and isn’t real noticeable at first. I think there was also denial in the family that she was showing signs of forgetfulness. Sally’s dementia is in the early stages and I think it was portrayed very accurately.

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My husband died of frontotemporal aphasia, a type of dementia this past April. I think the author did a great job of describing the actions of a person with dementia although she was very optimistic. I would have encouraged Ella to return to her mother sooner than 2 years. You never know how quickly the disease will progress.

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Both my mother and mother in law had dementia, the author was spot on in the description in the early stages of dementia.

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I thought the portrayal was accurate for the start of dementia. One with this horrible disease in caught between forgetting and trying to hold onto a sound mental state.

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