‘Pick up your pens. Tell your stories. And remember that showing the faces, the lived experience, and the daily reality of those with Alzheimer's and other altered, different states removes the stigma and restores their humanity.’ P5, Aliceheimer’s.

Where can I get Aliceheimer’s?
My local library had a copy. So it may be possible to borrow it or request it from your local library.  And PaperPlus has copies available to buy online.

Overview
Dana Walrath is a medical anthropologist, writer, and artist. Alice, her mother, started showing signs of Alzheimer’s while living in New York. Aliceheimer’s focuses on the years 2007 to 2010 when Dana and her husband, Peter, invited Alice to live with them in Vermont. 

The book is a series of illustrated (collage and drawing) vignettes, which include references to Alice in Wonderland.

Aliceheimer’s is one of the Graphic Medicine series – which I would recommend to anyone interested in ‘the intersection of comics and healthcare’.

Who Would Find this Book Helpful?
If you are interested in medical anthropology and would like to know more about Graphic Medicine, then this is an ideal book. Children of parents with dementia should find Aliceheimer’s practical and inspiring.

My Reflections
I read and re-read Aliceheimer’s and each time learnt something new; the book is designed to be dipped into and to be read cover to cover. I liked how Alice’s Alzheimer’s was a catalyst for Walrath to produce this book and led to a stronger commitment to her art practice. I related to this, as my father’s dementia inspired me to write Dad, You’ve Got Dementia and to commit to becoming a writer. 

I liked the clear learnings that are shared – two examples: 

• Ideally, there is a community of support – friends would regularly invite Alice, Dana and Peter over for movie nights.
• And planning needs to go into when care at home will end – Peter and Dana thought it might be Alice’s incontinence that would be the tipping point; in fact, it was Alice who made it clear that it was time for her to go into care.  

Walrath describes in vivid detail how the ‘dominant narrative’ of dementia is a ‘horror story.’  Whereas, for her and Alice it was a time of healing and magic; their relationship had not been an easy one. While describing and drawing these moments of magic, Walrath does not gloss over the difficulties of having a parent with dementia; that said, Aliceheimer’s is fundamentally an inspiring read.