Overview

These “moving and often surprising” (The Wall Street Journal) case histories meld science and storytelling to show that caregivers don’t just witness cognitive decline in their loved ones with dementia—they are its invisible victims.   “This book will forever change the way we see people with dementia disorders—and the people who care for them.”—Lori Gottlieb, author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone   A BBC BOOK OF THE WEEK • A TELEGRAPH BEST BOOK OF SUMMER Inspired by Dasha Kiper’s experience as a caregiver and counselor and informed by a breadth of cognitive and neurological research, Travelers to Unimaginable Lands dispels the myth of the perfect caregiver. In these compassionate, nonjudgmental stories of parents and children, husbands and wives, contending with dementia disorders, Kiper explores the existential dilemmas created by this disease: a man believes his wife is an impostor; a woman’s imaginary friendships with famous authors drive a wedge between her and her devoted husband; another woman’s childhood trauma emerges to torment her son; a man’s sudden, intense Catholic piety provokes his wife.   Kiper explains why the caregivers are maddened by these behaviors, mirroring their patients’ irrationality, even though they’ve been told it’s the disease at work. By demystifying the neurological obstacles to caregiving, Kiper illuminates the terrible pressure dementia disorders exert on our closest relationships, offering caregivers the perspective they need to be gentler with themselves.

Full Product Details

9780399590535

Table of Contents

Reviews

This book will forever change the way we see people with dementia disorders-and the people who care for them. Kiper compassionately illuminates the complex bond between us and our loved ones suffering from cognitive decline, surprising us with what we can learn about ourselves through this experience and the ways our own minds both deceive us and make us uniquely human. -Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Filled with insights and clinical jewels from start to finish, this book has much to teach us about the brain, our emotions, and the self. It is a treasure. -Norman Doidge, author of The Brain That Changes Itself, from the Foreword

This book will forever change the way we see people with dementia disorders-and the people who care for them. Dasha Kiper compassionately illuminates the complex bond between us and our loved ones suffering from cognitive decline, surprising us with what we can learn about ourselves through this experience and the ways our own minds both deceive us and make us uniquely human. -Lori Gottlieb, author of Maybe You Should Talk To Someone How do we cope with those who have lost something as profound as the 'normal' sense of self? Travelers to Unimaginable Lands is a compassionate and insightful book about dementia and its startling effects. -Roz Chast, author of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? Stirring, persuasive, and memorable . . . an eloquent and gripping book about personalities and the dances between them, exposing what dementia reveals about both the patient and the caretaker. -David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Stanford, author of Livewired This book-richly endowed with experience and wisdom-is a treasure. It provides those who care for the neurologically impaired the comfort of empathic insight into their own problematic behavior. Like no other book, it examines how taking care of the impaired mind affects one's own mind and sets up an internal struggle that reveals something fundamental about the human brain. I predict a long life for Travelers to Unimaginable Lands for anyone interested in or intimately involved with those afflicted by dementia. -Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments Filled with insights and clinical jewels from start to finish, this book has much to teach us about the brain, our emotions, and the self. It is a treasure. -from the foreword by Norman Doidge, author of The BrainThat Changes Itself Dasha Kiper's exhilarating and enlightening book offers sensitive, intimate portraits of Alzheimer's caregivers and their loved ones, enhanced by an informed tour of the mind and how it works. I can think of no other book that covers the challenges caregivers face-the 'fine, nearly impossible, line' they must walk-with such insight and understanding. For them, Kiper provides a priceless way to find the meaning in the journey and to feel less alone. -Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road

“Kiper’s work is deeply moving and often surprising. Through case studies both tragic and hauntingly relatable, she provides scientific grounding for what the beleaguered caregivers go through. With understanding comes the permission for, and perhaps a chance at, self-forgiveness.”—The Wall Street Journal “Kiper . . . evinces a capaciousness of sympathy and understanding for Alzheimer’s patients and (especially) their caregivers. . . . For the frustrated caregiver, trapped in a vicious psychodynamic that is dehumanizing to both parties, this may provide some valuable solace.”—The American Scholar “An elegant, empathetic, immensely informative, and insightful primer for caregivers as they try to navigate the fragmented, skewed world of the cognitively impaired.”—Psychology Today “A work of exceptional compassion . . . deeply imaginative . . . immeasurably valuable.”—The Guardian “Drawing on case studies that focus on both the person with dementia and the care-giver, the book makes use of neuroscience and psychology to provide a new perspective on the condition and its effects.”—Daily Telegraph “Inspired by her experience as a live-in carer for a Holocaust survivor with Alzheimer’s disease, Kiper blends clinical psychology and literary verve in a timely exploration of the psychology of caregiving.”—Financial Times “Kiper can write with an [Oliver] Sacks–like clarity . . . A wise book, and one that is unsettling in the best way.”—New Scientist “This book will forever change the way we see people with dementia disorders—and the people who care for them.”—Lori Gottlieb, author of Maybe You Should Talk To Someone “How do we cope with those who have lost something as profound as the ‘normal’ sense of self? Travelers to Unimaginable Lands is a compassionate and insightful book about dementia and its startling effects.”—Roz Chast, author of Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? “Stirring, persuasive, and memorable . . . an eloquent and gripping book about personalities and the dances between them, exposing what dementia reveals about both the patient and the caretaker.”—David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Stanford, author of Livewired “This book—richly endowed with experience and wisdom—is a treasure. I predict a long life for Travelers to Unimaginable Lands for anyone interested in or intimately involved with those afflicted by dementia.”—Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments “Dasha Kiper’s exhilarating and enlightening book offers sensitive, intimate portraits of Alzheimer’s caregivers and their loved ones, enhanced by an informed tour of the mind and how it works. For them, Kiper provides a priceless way to find the meaning in the journey and to feel less alone.”—Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road

This book will forever change the way we see people with dementia disorders-and the people who care for them. Kiper compassionately illuminates the complex bond between us and our loved ones suffering from cognitive decline, surprising us with what we can learn about ourselves through this experience and the ways our own minds both deceive us and make us uniquely human. -Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed This book-richly endowed with experience and wisdom-is a treasure. It provides those who care for the neurologically impaired the comfort of empathic insight into their own problematic behavior. Like no other book, it examines how taking care of the impaired mind affects one's own mind and sets up an internal struggle that reveals something fundamental about the human brain. I predict a long life for Travelers to Unimaginable Lands for anyone interested in or intimately involved with those afflicted by dementia. -Vivian Gornick How do we cope with those who have lost something as profound as the 'normal' sense of self? Travelers to Unimaginable Lands is a compassionate and insightful book about dementia and its startling effects. -Roz Chast, author of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? Dasha Kiper's exhilarating and enlightening book offers sensitive, intimate portraits of Alzheimer's caregivers and their loved ones, enhanced by an informed tour of the mind and how it works. I can think of no other book that covers the challenges caregivers face-the 'fine, nearly impossible line' they must walk-with such insight and understanding. For them, Kiper provides a priceless way to find the meaning in the journey, and to feel less alone. -Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road Filled with insights and clinical jewels from start to finish, this book has much to teach us about the brain, our emotions, and the self. It is a treasure. -Norman Doidge, author of The Brain That Changes Itself, from the Foreword

This book will forever change the way we see people with dementia disorders-and the people who care for them. Dasha Kiper compassionately illuminates the complex bond between us and our loved ones suffering from cognitive decline, surprising us with what we can learn about ourselves through this experience and the ways our own minds both deceive us and make us uniquely human. -Lori Gottlieb, author of Maybe You Should Talk To Someone How do we cope with those who have lost something as profound as the 'normal' sense of self? Travelers to Unimaginable Lands is a compassionate and insightful book about dementia and its startling effects. -Roz Chast, author of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? An eloquent and gripping book about personalities and the dances between them, exposing what dementia reveals about both the patient and the caretaker. Stirring, persuasive, and memorable. -David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Stanford, author of Livewired This book-richly endowed with experience and wisdom-is a treasure. It provides those who care for the neurologically impaired the comfort of empathic insight into their own problematic behavior. Like no other book, it examines how taking care of the impaired mind affects one's own mind and sets up an internal struggle that reveals something fundamental about the human brain. I predict a long life for Travelers to Unimaginable Lands for anyone interested in or intimately involved with those afflicted by dementia. -Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments Filled with insights and clinical jewels from start to finish, this book has much to teach us about the brain, our emotions, and the self. It is a treasure. -from the foreword by Norman Doidge, author of The BrainThat Changes Itself Dasha Kiper's exhilarating and enlightening book offers sensitive, intimate portraits of Alzheimer's caregivers and their loved ones, enhanced by an informed tour of the mind and how it works. I can think of no other book that covers the challenges caregivers face-the 'fine, nearly impossible, line' they must walk-with such insight and understanding. For them, Kiper provides a priceless way to find the meaning in the journey and to feel less alone. -Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road

“Kiper’s work is deeply moving and often surprising. Through case studies both tragic and hauntingly relatable, she provides scientific grounding for what the beleaguered caregivers go through. With understanding comes the permission for, and perhaps a chance at, self-forgiveness.”—The Wall Street Journal “Kiper . . . evinces a capaciousness of sympathy and understanding for Alzheimer’s patients and (especially) their caregivers that infuses her portrayals of their struggles with Sacksian humanity. For the frustrated caregiver, trapped in a vicious psychodynamic that is dehumanizing to both parties, this may provide some valuable solace.”—The American Scholar   “An elegant, empathetic, immensely informative, and insightful primer for caregivers as they try to navigate the fragmented, skewed world of the cognitively impaired.”—Psychology Today “This book will forever change the way we see people with dementia disorders—and the people who care for them. Dasha Kiper compassionately illuminates the complex bond between us and our loved ones suffering from cognitive decline, surprising us with what we can learn about ourselves through this experience and the ways our own minds both deceive us and make us uniquely human.”—Lori Gottlieb, author of Maybe You Should Talk To Someone “How do we cope with those who have lost something as profound as the ‘normal’ sense of self? Travelers to Unimaginable Lands is a compassionate and insightful book about dementia and its startling effects.”—Roz Chast, author of Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? “Stirring, persuasive, and memorable . . . an eloquent and gripping book about personalities and the dances between them, exposing what dementia reveals about both the patient and the caretaker.”—David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Stanford, author of Livewired “This book—richly endowed with experience and wisdom—is a treasure. It provides those who care for the neurologically impaired the comfort of empathic insight into their own problematic behavior. Like no other book, it examines how taking care of the impaired mind affects one’s own mind and sets up an internal struggle that reveals something fundamental about the human brain. I predict a long life for Travelers to Unimaginable Lands for anyone interested in or intimately involved with those afflicted by dementia.”—Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments “Filled with insights and clinical jewels from start to finish, this book has much to teach us about the brain, our emotions, and the self. It is a treasure.”—from the foreword by Norman Doidge, author of The Brain That Changes Itself “Dasha Kiper’s exhilarating and enlightening book offers sensitive, intimate portraits of Alzheimer’s caregivers and their loved ones, enhanced by an informed tour of the mind and how it works. I can think of no other book that covers the challenges caregivers face—the ‘fine, nearly impossible, line’ they must walk—with such insight and understanding. For them, Kiper provides a priceless way to find the meaning in the journey and to feel less alone.”—Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road

This book will forever change the way we see people with dementia disorders-and the people who care for them. Kiper compassionately illuminates the complex bond between us and our loved ones suffering from cognitive decline, surprising us with what we can learn about ourselves through this experience and the ways our own minds both deceive us and make us uniquely human. -Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Filled with insights and clinical jewels from start to finish, this book has much to teach us about the brain, our emotions, and the self. It is a treasure. -Norman Doidge, author of The Brain that Changes Itself, from the Foreword

Author Information

Dasha Kiper is the former consulting clinical director of support groups at an Alzheimer’s organization and has an MA in clinical psychology from Columbia University. She has worked with both dementia patients and caregivers.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available