Floating in the Deep End - by Patti Davis (Hardcover)
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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>With the heartfelt prose of a loving daughter, Patti Davis provides a life raft for the caregivers of Alzheimer's patients.<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p>"<em>For the decade of my father's illness, I felt as if I was floating in the deep end, tossed by waves, carried by currents, but not drowning</em>," writes Patti Davis in this searingly honest and deeply moving account of the challenges involved in taking care of someone stricken with Alzheimer's.</p><p>When her father, the fortieth president of the United States, announced his Alzheimer's diagnosis in an address to the American public in 1994, the world had not yet begun speaking about this cruel, mysterious disease. Yet overnight, Ronald Reagan and his immediate family became the face of Alzheimer's, and Davis, once content to keep her family at arm's length, quickly moved across the country to be present during "the journey that would take [him] into the sunset of [his] life."</p><p>Empowered by all she learned from caring for her father--about the nature of the illness, but also about the loss of a parent--Davis founded a support group for the family members and friends of Alzheimer's patients. Along with a medically trained cofacilitator, she met with hundreds of exhausted and devastated attendees to talk through their pain and confusion. While Davis was aware that her own circumstances were uniquely fortunate, she knew there were universal truths about dementia, and even surprising gifts to be found in a long goodbye.</p><p>With <em>Floating in the Deep End</em>, Davis draws on a welter of experiences to provide a singular account of battling Alzheimer's. Eloquently woven with personal anecdotes and helpful advice tailored specifically for the overlooked caregiver, this essential guide covers every potential stage of the disease from the initial diagnosis through the ultimate passing and beyond. Including such tips as how to keep a loved one hygienic, and careful responses for when they drift to a time gone by, Davis always stresses the emotional milestones that come with slow-burning grief.</p><p>Along the way, Davis shares how her own fractured family came together. With unflinching candor, she recalls when her mother, Nancy, who for decades could not show her children compassion or vulnerability, suddenly broke down in her arms. Davis also offers tender moments in which her father, a fabled movie star whom she always longed to know better, revealed his true self--always kind, even when he couldn't recognize his own daughter.</p><p>An inherently wise work that promises to become a classic, <em>Floating in the Deep End</em> ultimately provides hope to struggling families while elegantly illuminating the fragile human condition.</p><p/><br></br><p><b> From the Back Cover </b></p></br></br><p>"When President Ronald Reagan contacted [Alzheimer's], his family--like so many others--began the long journey toward ultimate acceptance and peace. The president's daughter Patti Davis knows firsthand the pain of that journey and helps others, as well, find the strength to walk it with courage and faith. Floating in the Deep End is a stunning account of an all-too familiar experience. It takes the reader into the deeper mysteries of Alzheimer's, including not only its cruelty but also its gifts to the vulnerable heart."<br /><strong>--Marianne Williamson</strong></p><p>"Patti Davis draws upon her experience as the daughter of the most famous Alzheimer's patient in American history to produce an insightful, invaluable, and beautifully written look at what it's like to care for someone suffering from dementia. She mixes intimate, heartbreaking recollections of Ronald Reagan's final years with the hard-won lessons she learned from this ordeal. Her book is a must-read for anyone who has to confront a loved one's Alzheimer's diagnosis--or their own. By showing how to cope, she demystifies a disease that so many dread."<br /><strong>--Max Boot, <em>Washington Post</em> columnist and historian</strong></p><p>"Wise, compassionate--and gorgeously written--words from Patti Davis, who lived the pain of Alzheimer's with her father, Ronald Reagan, and who wanted to share what she had researched and learned to help others. This is a truly stunning memoir about helping afflicted loved ones have their best lives while they can, and it's also absolutely essential reading for anyone who ages--and that means all of us."<br /><strong>--Caroline Leavitt, author of <em>With or Without You</em></strong></p><p>"Drawing on the most difficult and depleting of personal experience, Patti Davis, a gifted writer, has given us a moving, illuminating, and ultimately hopeful book about how to cope with profound loss when darkness descends on those we love."<br /><strong>--Jon Meacham</strong></p><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br>Davis writes about practical aspects of caregiving that she and other Beyond Alzheimer's members have encountered.... Davis very eloquently describes feeling 'as if I was floating in the deep end, tossed by waves, carried by currents, but not drowning.' Davis is a wise, thoughtful, empathetic, skilled, graceful support for the many people facing AD in a loved one. A must-read.--Marcia G. Welch, Library Journal, starred review<br><br>Her bracing narrative is a vital supportive resource for anyone navigating the choppy waters of Alzheimer's within a familial network. A heartbreaking yet hopeful journey through the painful chaos of a loved one's compassionate care.-- "Kirkus Reviews"<br>
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