Probably not. There are very significant differences in how you deal with a mentally ill person vs. someone with Alzheimers ... things like sundowning, and constant complaints that "people are breaking in and stealing my things, and then breaking in to give them back" are not common to mental illness ... neither is truly random combativeness, and misidentifying people as folks from their pasts.

It's sad, and I've worked with some folks who are actually senile but come into the mental health system because there sometimes isn't anywhere else to go ...

I expect that there are some books on Alzheimers/Senility/Aging and coping with it, but I haven't run across any ... I probably should, as I've noticed some memory and attention problems in my mom, especially over the last two years or so.

I'd also recommend that your mom start looking into Alzehimer's Units in nursing homes near your uncle's house (there's one near here with the tagline "Specialty Living for the Memory Impaired"). Tell your mom to chat with other nurses, particularly pool or float nurses. They will absolutely know where the good and bad places are.

Just finished DANGEROUS MUSE a life of Lady Caroline Blackwood ( she was married to Lucian Freud, Isreal Citkowitz and Robert Lowell) and GREAT GRANNY WEBSTER, by Lady Caroline Blackwood. Good stuff. I love titled, crazy, alcoholic, bi-polar stories. They are sooooo interesting. :)

Does 'Forum' count?

An excerpt: "I never thought this would happen to me and I dont know if anyone'll believe it, but it really did! My regular pool guy must have been sick because he sent two 6' Amazonian women to clean my pool, instead..."

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.


I blazed through the new one and discovered that I had missed several background details. Turns out I skipped the previous book. So while I enjoyed the Half Blood Prince, it was also full of spoilers for the Order of the Phoenix. I'm reading and enjoying it anyway.

I'm a slow learner. The Order of the Phoenix is spoiler packed for those among us who haven't read The Goblet of Fire. *sigh*

"Forums for Dummies"

The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. It's an odd novel of vampire lore.

I'm reading my third book in as many days--not because I read them very fast, but because the first two sucked so hard I didn't get more than 30 pages in. Both were loaned to me by a friend, which is a shame because up until now I had trusted her taste in books.

The first was Kushiel's Dart, and the second was Sunshine. They were both horrible.

I'm having to re-read one of my favorite books now just to remind myself that it's not me, I haven't suddenly lost my ability to enjoy books or something.

Let's all read, um...Hardy's TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES!

Or, if that is too much of a drag, we could all read some Hawthorne--Young Goodman Brown or Rappaccini's Daughter. Get us ready for Halloween!

Just knocked off Snowcrash. um... wow

yeah. that was cool.



edit: linkified for Brianna

mmmm. You guys either know more than I do--or LESS.

What are you yammering about? Snowcrash? Is that, like, some sort of Sidney Sheldon thing????

Obviously, I canna keep up. I'm only on the 1950's...so...much...lit...kulchar...

*cough* *cough*

dramatic death...and

eyeliner.


*gasp*

I read that! It was a great first novel - I can't wait to see what she'll do next.

Just curious - why didn't you like Kushiel's Dart? Was it too much like a romance novel for you? I did like that book as well as the other two in the series.