Coffee With Mom by Mike Glenn should be required reading for caregivers of Dementia patients

Sometimes an author thinks he’s telling his story, but the further you get into the book, the more familiar it sounds, the names and places might be different, but there is a certain familiarity that you just can’t shake. And it’s not because this is the umpteenth book by the same author and the stories are being repeated; it’s because you, or someone you know is living a similar story. 

                In Coffee with Mom: Caring for a Parent with Dementia (B&H Publishing, 2019) Mike Glenn tells a very personal story, except that it’s probably the story of everyone who has had to care for a parent who suffers with dementia or Alzheimer’s. Yes the details are slightly different. Not everyone played the piano by ear, not everyone grew up in Huntsville, AL, and certainly not every dementia parent had to leave their home and move to Nashville to be close to the caregiving child.  But in the midst of the individual details are those bigger pictures. The pictures of anger, frustration, despair, guilt, hurt, loss and grief.

                Mike Glenn not only addresses so many of those issues, but he tells about his experiences in such a heartfelt way that it’s impossible not to be moved. His pastoral-self shines as he describes what he went through and how he learned to deal with things, including how to realize that he loved his mother enough to make unpopular choices (during a time when she was accusing him of not loving her enough.)

                The lessons in this book are many.  And as he says, almost everyone knows someone who suffers dementia, and when they find out that you’re going through it too, they can’t help but want to tell you about their experiences. Sometimes it helps to know that you’re not alone—other times you need to be the one to share the experience.  And since these horrible diseases affect everyone differently, most of the time the unsolicited advice won’t work in your case anyway (p 166)

                The biggest take away for me is don’t be afraid to ask for help.  The Dementia journey is a long and arduous one, and it’s a rare person who can go it alone. And again Mike adds some Pastoral guidance: turn to God.

                Doctors should read and recommend this book. Staff in care facilities with a memory unit, or patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s patients should familiarize themselves with what the families are going through at the same time that the patient is losing more and more of himself or herself.  This short book speaks volumes into the lives of those struggling with the disease.

                I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review.

                5/5