Alzheimer's

The Truth About Delilah Blue

admin — Sun, 16 May 2010 08:00:00 +0000

After first reading The Truth About Delilah Blue's jacket blurb, it struck me as a beach book. It turned out I was only slightly incorrect; it's an airplane book, most satisfying when you really have nothing else to do and nowhere else to go.

Delilah, also known as Lila, is working as a nude model in an attempt to absorb the art education she cannot afford. Her father, a successful salesman who has long been the center of her world, now seems to be having trouble navigating the world on his own. It is at this point that Lila's long-lost mother reenters the scene, bringing a little sister and a family secret, both of which cause Lila to reexamine her viewpoint and direction in life.

The story’s center is a question: how do you solve a mystery that explains your entire life when one parent is too self-absorbed to recognize her part in the story, and the other parent is losing the part of his mind that remembers? Is it more important to go back or to go forward?

The Truth About Delilah Blue is well written, with an almost soothing narrative voice and descriptive prose that allows one to forgive the formulaic plot. Recipe for a summer’s read: Mix one plucky heroine with a family crisis, add a plot twist that no one will expect, sprinkle in a few quirky extras, and let combine for a hundred pages or so, more or less according to taste. Our heroine conquers her issues, shows them all, and lands the hot boyfriend just as she should, and voila, everybody’s fine. The story would have been sufficiently likable if it hadn’t tried to be more than it is, but unfortunately that’s not the case here. This book appears to be convinced it is a novel, not just a shortcut to a screenplay, but we have too many loose story threads, too many characters that enter with detail but drift off without explanation. Many concepts are touched on but none are done justice, from the pain of abandoned children to the sadness of a parent with Alzheimer’s and the anger at a parent that just won’t grow up. Any of these could have made for a successful story, several or all of them together if handled correctly and with enough detail. Unfortunately, Cohen sprinkles in only a little of each, and just ends up with soup.

The book is slow to start, and is most interesting in the middle third. The ending really isn’t one; only the father’s character sees resolution, while the others are left adrift in a sea of what ifs. Lila makes plans to be the one to gather up and hold together the loose ends of her family, and you expect to see how she manages the feat. Instead, the story just stops.

The Truth About Delilah Blue is enjoyable if you enter with little in the way of expectation. It’s just the thing to pick up before your next flight.

Written by: Melissa Ruiz, May 16th 2010

I Still Do: Loving and Living with Alzheimer’s

admin — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:01:00 +0000

By Judith Fox

powerHouse Books

I Still Do was written to help anyone who has or may be coping with someone in their family who has Alzheimer’s. It is a candid and emotional portrayal of author Judith Fox’s husband Ed along with their heartfelt story. Fox loves photography and capturing that perfect picture, and it shows in the photos in this book, as well as in the striking photo on the book cover. Fox goes into detail about the couple's life together, and she portrays her husband as a genius, athlete, aviator, and talks about his duties as a surgeon.

She explains that he is slowly being robbed of his memories and how hard it is to deal with him slipping away a little more each day. The book is actually set up in paragraphs with pictures accompanying them. The photos are all of Ed in different poses and situations. There are pictures where you can almost see right into his soul, and there are actual tears in his eyes. The pictures are a mixture of funny, candid, and everyday photos of a man who is slowly slipping away. There is one funny picture where Ed is sticking out his tongue in a small round shaving mirror, which shows that he still has some sense of humour and wit. This is how the book becomes real for the reader and truly touching.

Judith Fox wanted the reader to really see the soul of her husband and even shot one picture of him completely naked—minus his penis, of course! Judith goes into detail about the disease and how she has a caregiver to help her with Ed. She also explains the day to day issues that come with caring for someone with Alzheimer’s and the toll it can take on their loved ones. She only tells her husband bits and pieces about his disease, and he has apologized for putting her through the whole ordeal. Sadly, Ed doesn’t remember that they are even married! However, for Judith just loving each other is enough. The story ends with the one thing that the couple used to always say to each other. “I still do…and I always will.” This story will make you believe in true and lasting love.

Written by: Amber Whitman-Currier, December 20th 2009

Away from Her

admin — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 21:50:00 +0000

Directed by Sarah Polley

Lionsgate

In her adaptation of Alice Munro's short story, "The Bear Came Over the Mountain," Canadian actress, political activist and first-time director Sarah Polley bridges generations and experience in her striking film about aging, adultery and love. As both of my grandmothers have relocated to assisted care facilities in only the past six months—one with a husband still at home—I found Away From Her to be a particularly remarkable piece that tackles personal tragedy in a charitable and broad fashion, exploring the complexity of old age infirmity coupled with equally convoluted infidelity.

Award-winning actors Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent give poignant performances as a happily retired couple suddenly faced with the reality of early-onset Alzheimer’s. As Fiona and husband Grant make the excruciating decision to move her into an assisted living facility after a nearly inseparable forty-four years, they are also faced with shadows from their past. As if the transition were not already disruptive, after the first month in the center—a forced period of seclusion to help Fiona "settle in"—Grant returns to find his wife emotionally attached to another man.

In addition to navigating the difficulties of memory loss, Away From Her explores extramarital amour and the active choice to ultimately rebuild a marriage. After an affair early in their relationship, Grant has been forgiven by providing Fiona the new life he promised as penance. But faced with a resurgence of their martial ghosts, Grant ponders the poetic justice of Fiona’s new love with the care center’s down-to-earth head nurse Kristy as his confidante. He points out, partially to assuage his own guilt, “We didn’t have such a bad life,” and Kristy, without missing a beat, responds that it always seems to be the men who feel that way.

At twenty-eight, Polley already has a keen director's eye, shown through choice of dense colors and natural light that often floods the screen. A truly gorgeous film starring beautiful people, Polley respectfully reminds us that just because we get older doesn't mean we're no longer sexually, emotionally complex beings.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, June 9th 2007