MICHAEL'S MEMORIES

A medical doctor recounts dealing with her parent’s dementia in this memoir and self-help book.

In this concise book, Chinelo grounds her narrative in the story of her father, Michael Ejidike Umeh, who was born in Nigeria in 1945 and had a successful real estate business. “His ability to negotiate was like a dance of skill and grace,” Chinelo writes, “he orchestrated deals with a proficiency that indicated years of expertise.” However, after he began to show signs of dementia while living the United Kingdom, his family moved with him back to Africa and began to care for a man whose worsening amnesia “began to gather on the horizon like ominous storm clouds.” Later, Chinelo shifts the focus of her book from memoir to instruction, aiming to educate readers on the nature of dementia’s physiological and social dimensions. Specifically, she cites research on various factors affecting the incidence of dementia in Nigerian Igbo people and Black people internationally, and she calls for a “paradigm shift” in prioritizing mental health. She also offers a wide range of practical advice on caring for people with dementia, addressing such topics as wandering behavior and proper nutrition. Chinelo makes the wise decision to separate the bulk of her father’s personal story from the book’s wider pedagogical mission. The sheer amount of information about Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive disorders that she breaks down into clear language is impressive. She also effectively combines this with preventative measures, frequently mentioning good habits that readers can establish to lower their own likelihood of dementia: “Embracing sobriety is a decision about one’s health and a process that leads to a more positive and healthier future,” she writes at one point. “We raise a glass to sobriety and clarity in this moment of celebration.”

A comprehensive and informative personal overview of cognitive disorders for caregivers.