H.O.P.E. for the Alzheimer’s Journey provides advice, tools, and suggestions that the author and her brothers learned or developed during their 11-year journey providing care for their mother. The concepts are conveyed in an open, honest, and creative manner using original family email communications. These emails provide insight into the siblings’ thoughts, concerns, emotions, and deliberations as they realized their mother’s memory loss, sought a diagnosis and treatment, selected housing options, and developed care strategies as their mother continued to deteriorate from Alzheimer’s.
Hope in the title is used as an acronym but also refers to the hope that God gives us everyday. I share many of the rays of hope God gave me during this journey and share my top tool for caregivers, FAITH.
The Hope acronym stands for:
Help – Caregivers are shown how to develop a circle of support that includes family, friends, professional caregivers, etc. Valuable resources are also included.
Organization is critical for the busy life of caregivers. An entire chapter is devoted to organization.
Preparation – Caregivers are given information, tools, and advice to anticipate and prepare for the next phase of their journey
Education – Caregivers are provided with a wealth of information on diagnosis, communication, residential facilities, and caregiving.
The Caregiving Principle®, a novel approach to caregiving developed by the author, is the central theme. It is a framework to provide a deeper understanding of the person with Alzheimer’s and the role of the caregiver. The book can make the Alzheimer’s journey less stressful and more rewarding. The Caregiving Principle® is a 2021 Maude’s Awards Recipient for innovation in Alzheimer’s Care. It was one of five individual winners. Maude’s Awards was created in 2019 by Richard Ferry (Co-Founder of Korn-Ferry International) in honor of his beloved wife of 65 years. In 2013, Maude was diagnosed with dementia and she just recently passed away.
H.O.P.E. for the Alzheimer’s Journey equips Alzheimer’s caregivers with knowledge, tools, and advice for their difficult road ahead. The concepts are conveyed in an open, honest, and creative manner using original family email communications from Carol B. Amos’s own journey. Carol also introduces The Caregiving Principle®: a simple approach that provides a deeper understanding of a person with Alzheimer’s disease and a framework for the caregiver’s role. She provides examples of how The Caregiving Principle™ helped her connect with her mother. H.O.P.E. for the Alzheimer’s Journey encourages caregivers to take care of themselves and provides inspiration for a less stressful, more rewarding journey.
