Before I Forget: Love, Hope, Help, and Acceptance in Our Fight Against Alzheimer's by B. Smith & Dan Gasby

I bought this book to give to my stepmother, who is the caregiver for my dad, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. After receiving it in the mail, I decided to read it before giving it to her. I thought I might gain a better perspective of what she is going through and learn more about the disease. This book provided the details I was seeking, plus more. It was extremely informative and I found a lot of value in reading it. I hope my stepmother does too.

B. Smith was a model, singer and New York restaurant owner. She decided to go public with her early on-set (before age 65) Alzheimer's diagnosis. Dan Gasby is her husband of 22 years, and her caregiver. The book is split up into 10 Parts and B. Smith shares her thoughts as a preface to each Part. Dan expresses his frustrations, impatience, compassion, love and denial as they learn to live with Alzheimer's. He also explains the different theories on what causes Alzheimer's, how different drugs may or may not help and why, how genetics plays a role, how lifestyle also plays a role, the research that is currently going on to slow down the progression of the disease after it has been diagnosed, and even the steps being taken to stop the disease from ever developing in the first place.

The book alternates from Dan sharing their personal story of day-to-day life and all the trials and tribulations of understanding Alzheimer's and the different lives they are forced to lead because of it, and information regarding Alzheimer's itself, including how many people are affected by it, how challenging and expensive it is to complete drug trials, and how underfunded the research for Alzheimer's is compared to other diseases - even Ebola! (Which doesn't affect even a tiny fraction of people in the US compared to the growing number of people living with Alzheimer's).

Dan is open and honest about his feelings, and his shortcomings as a caregiver. He has also spent a lot of time and energy researching this disease, talking to doctors, understanding the options, planning for the future. B. Smith's voice also strengthened my understanding of how frustrating it must be to be told what to do each day, even as you know that someone needs to tell you what to do each day. I would recommend this book to all people who love someone who has this disease or is caring for someone with Alzheimer's.

Wendy's Rating: *****