Remembering the music, forgetting the words: travels with Mom in the land of dementia
(Book)
Author:
Published:
Boston : Beacon Press, c2011.
Physical Desc:
233 pages ; 23 cm.
Status:
Carmichael
616.831 W628 2011
Description
From the author of the much-loved memoir Cottage for Sale, Must Be Moved comes an engaging and inspiring account of a daughter who must face her mother’s premature decline.
In Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words, Kate Whouley strips away the romantic veneer of mother-daughter love to bare the toothed and tough reality of caring for a parent who is slowly losing her mind. Yet, this is not a dark or dour look at the demon of Alzheimer’s. Whouley shares the trying, the tender, and the sometimes hilarious moments in meeting the challenge also known as Mom.
As her mother, Anne, falls into forgetting, Kate remembers for her. In Anne we meet a strong-minded, accidental feminist with a weakness for unreliable men. The first woman to apply for—and win—a department-head position in her school system, Anne was an innovative educator who poured her passion into her work. House-proud too, she made certain her Hummel figurines were dusted and arranged just so. But as her memory falters, so does her housekeeping. Surrounded by stacks of dirty dishes, piles of laundry, and months of unopened mail, Anne needs Kate’s help—but she doesn’t want to relinquish her hard-won independence any more than she wants to give up smoking.
Time and time again, Kate must balance Anne’s often nonsensical demands with what she believes are the best decisions for her mother’s comfort and safety. This is familiar territory for anyone who has had to help a loved one in decline, but Kate finds new and different ways to approach her mother and her forgetting. Shuddering under the weight of accumulating bills and her mother’s frustrating, circular arguments, Kate realizes she must push past difficult family history to find compassion, empathy, and good humor.
When the memories, the names, and then the words begin to fade, it is the music that matters most to Kate’s mother. Holding hands after a concert, a flute case slung over Kate’s shoulder, and a shared joke between them, their relationship is healed—even in the face of a dreaded and deadly diagnosis. “Memory,” Kate Whouley writes, “is overrated.”
In Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words, Kate Whouley strips away the romantic veneer of mother-daughter love to bare the toothed and tough reality of caring for a parent who is slowly losing her mind. Yet, this is not a dark or dour look at the demon of Alzheimer’s. Whouley shares the trying, the tender, and the sometimes hilarious moments in meeting the challenge also known as Mom.
As her mother, Anne, falls into forgetting, Kate remembers for her. In Anne we meet a strong-minded, accidental feminist with a weakness for unreliable men. The first woman to apply for—and win—a department-head position in her school system, Anne was an innovative educator who poured her passion into her work. House-proud too, she made certain her Hummel figurines were dusted and arranged just so. But as her memory falters, so does her housekeeping. Surrounded by stacks of dirty dishes, piles of laundry, and months of unopened mail, Anne needs Kate’s help—but she doesn’t want to relinquish her hard-won independence any more than she wants to give up smoking.
Time and time again, Kate must balance Anne’s often nonsensical demands with what she believes are the best decisions for her mother’s comfort and safety. This is familiar territory for anyone who has had to help a loved one in decline, but Kate finds new and different ways to approach her mother and her forgetting. Shuddering under the weight of accumulating bills and her mother’s frustrating, circular arguments, Kate realizes she must push past difficult family history to find compassion, empathy, and good humor.
When the memories, the names, and then the words begin to fade, it is the music that matters most to Kate’s mother. Holding hands after a concert, a flute case slung over Kate’s shoulder, and a shared joke between them, their relationship is healed—even in the face of a dreaded and deadly diagnosis. “Memory,” Kate Whouley writes, “is overrated.”
Copies
Location
Call Number
Status
Carmichael
616.831 W628 2011
On Shelf
More Copies In LINK+
Loading LINK+ Copies...
More Details
Format:
Book
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780807003190
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)
Whouley, K. (2011). Remembering the music, forgetting the words: travels with Mom in the land of dementia. Boston, Beacon Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Whouley, Kate. 2011. Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words: Travels With Mom in the Land of Dementia. Boston, Beacon Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Whouley, Kate, Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words: Travels With Mom in the Land of Dementia. Boston, Beacon Press, 2011.
MLA Citation (style guide)Whouley, Kate. Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words: Travels With Mom in the Land of Dementia. Boston, Beacon Press, 2011.
Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
f4f5daae-730f-b9a5-e7de-98f46099e2a7
Record Information
Last Sierra Extract Time | Mar 26, 2024 09:28:33 PM |
---|---|
Last File Modification Time | Mar 26, 2024 09:29:03 PM |
Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Mar 28, 2024 02:11:39 AM |
MARC Record
LEADER | 01098pam 2200337 a 4500 | ||
---|---|---|---|
001 | 2011012351 | ||
003 | DLC | ||
005 | 20110906094412.0 | ||
008 | 110404s2011 mau 000 0deng | ||
010 | |a 2011012351 | ||
020 | |a 9780807003190 | ||
040 | |a DLC|c DLC|d GCmBT | ||
042 | |a pcc | ||
043 | |a n-us--- | ||
049 | |a JRSA | ||
050 | 0 | 0 | |a RC523.2|b .W495 2011 |
082 | 0 | 0 | |a 616.8/31|2 22 |
099 | |a 616.831 W628 2011 | ||
100 | 1 | |a Whouley, Kate. | |
245 | 1 | 0 | |a Remembering the music, forgetting the words :|b travels with Mom in the land of dementia /|c Kate Whouley. |
260 | |a Boston :|b Beacon Press,|c c2011. | ||
300 | |a 233 p. ;|c 23 cm. | ||
600 | 1 | 0 | |a Whouley, Kate. |
600 | 1 | 0 | |a Whouley, Kate|x Family. |
650 | 0 | |a Alzheimer's disease|x Patients|z United States|x Family relationships. | |
650 | 0 | |a Alzheimer's disease|x Patients|z United States|v Biography. | |
650 | 0 | |a Mothers and daughters|z United States. | |
907 | |a .b20684149 | ||
945 | |y .i64632726|i 33029072739899|l carag|s -|k |u 12|x 0|w 1|v 8|t 3|z 09-15-11|o - | ||
948 | |a Featured List 10/11 | ||
998 | |e -|d a |f eng|a car |