"The Theft of Memory - Losing My Father, One Day at a Time"

disclaimer:  I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest opinions.  All opinions remain my own.

"The Theft of Memory - Losing My Father, One Day at a Time"

by Jonathan Kozol

  "The Theft of Memory - Losing My Father, One Day at a Time" is Jonathan Kozol's recollections of his father's decline into dementia.  His father was a well known specialist in disorders of the brain, and with this knowledge was able to explain some of the causes and symptoms he was experiencing when entering this part of his life.

  Mommy in PA:  Alas, this book was not what I expected.  I was hoping to get some great moments of perspective, as my mother too suffers from dementia.  Instead I was left with something I was having a very difficult time following.  This of course not being Johnathan's fault but the disease itself as every Alzheimer's Dementia patient acts differently and progresses at different speeds.  This book just wasn't quite what I needed as the experiences between his father and my mother are very different.

  The part where his father could actually tell what was going on with him due to his experiences in the field were amazing but at the same time terrifying, I can only imagine what it would be like to know that one day soon you wouldn't even recognize your own spouse or children.  

  The stories of his father's past job relationships, though interesting, made it hard for me to read the book.  I can't even tell you how many times I picked it up and put it down after only a page or two.  I think there was just way too much detail in some of the sections that could have been shortened or left out all together.  Just so the story would flow better.  

  In closing, it was an interesting read, but was not helpful in the way I had hoped.