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Memory's last breath : field notes on my dementia / Gerda Saunders.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Hachette Books, 2017Copyright date: ©2017Edition: First editionDescription: xi, 272 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780316502627
  • 0316502626
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Telling who I am before I forget -- Quantum puff adders and fractional memories -- The grammar of the disappearing self -- This is your brain on the fritz -- Of madness and love I -- Of madness and love II -- Makeovers in extremis -- The exit that dare not say its name.
Summary: Based on the "field notes" she keeps in her journal, Memory's Last Breath is Saunders' astonishing window into a life distorted by dementia. She writes about shopping trips cut short by unintentional shoplifting, car journeys derailed when she loses her bearings, and the embarrassment of forgetting what she has just said to a room of colleagues. Coping with the complications of losing short-term memory, Saunders nonetheless embarks on a personal investigation of the brain and its mysteries, examining science and literature, and immersing herself in vivid memories of her childhood in South Africa.
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Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Biography Saunders G. S257 Available 33111008784734
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A "courageous and singular book" (Andrew Solomon), Memory's Last Breath is an unsparing, beautifully written memoir -- "an intimate, revealing account of living with dementia" ( Shelf Awareness ).

Based on the "field notes" she keeps in her journal, Memory's Last Breath is Gerda Saunders' astonishing window into a life distorted by dementia. She writes about shopping trips cut short by unintentional shoplifting, car journeys derailed when she loses her bearings, and the embarrassment of forgetting what she has just said to a room of colleagues. Coping with the complications of losing short-term memory, Saunders, a former university professor, nonetheless embarks on a personal investigation of the brain and its mysteries, examining science and literature, and immersing herself in vivid memories of her childhood in South Africa. "For anyone facing dementia, [Saunders'] words are truly enlightening . . . Inspiring lessons about living and thriving with dementia." -- Maria Shriver, NBC's Today Show

Telling who I am before I forget -- Quantum puff adders and fractional memories -- The grammar of the disappearing self -- This is your brain on the fritz -- Of madness and love I -- Of madness and love II -- Makeovers in extremis -- The exit that dare not say its name.

Based on the "field notes" she keeps in her journal, Memory's Last Breath is Saunders' astonishing window into a life distorted by dementia. She writes about shopping trips cut short by unintentional shoplifting, car journeys derailed when she loses her bearings, and the embarrassment of forgetting what she has just said to a room of colleagues. Coping with the complications of losing short-term memory, Saunders nonetheless embarks on a personal investigation of the brain and its mysteries, examining science and literature, and immersing herself in vivid memories of her childhood in South Africa.

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