Doreen Cox

Adventures in Mother-Sitting by Doreen Cox

This memoir is about Eva and her daughter Dody. As Eva sinks into dementia Dody is faced with many challenges. As Evas' diseases progress and she nears the end of her life, Dody becomes "The Mother" and Eva "The child". Dody chronicles her experiences, the many emotions, challenges and fears she must face.

Well written and heart warming, we see how Dody changes. We feel her pain, frustration, and roller-coaster of emotions as a care-giver. We also see the heart-breaking changes in Eva. We she what she goes through day by day. I could actually feel what they were going through. From the frustrations of "pill-time", meals, toileting and night time delusions. One thing that is truly beautiful and wonderful, Dody held onto the unconditional love between Mother and Daughter, and unbreakable bond. A memorable read that will stay with me forever.

I strongly recommend Adventures in Mother-Sitting to all. I also love the beautiful cover of Dody and Eva.… (plus d'informations)

Every now and then a book comes along that surprises with me with its essence. This is one of those books.

I'm going to start with a confession: I wasn't sure about this book at first. I connect to stories by connecting to the characters, and there isn't a lot of development here. We learn little about Leah or the people tracking her. I wondered, "Who is this woman I'm following into the woods?"

Then, as I followed along, I learned that the journey here is the heart and soul of the story. Leah could be my mother, your grandmother, or that lady in line ahead of us at the grocery store. She is a symbol of each of us, and of the people we love. I hope I have that right. Ms. Doreen Cox, feel free to correct me if I've gotten it wrong.

The animals in the forest and the way they surround Leah with love is truly beautiful. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I will simply say that the feeling of peace this story gives is powerful.

This is a novella is short on words but long on impact.… (plus d'informations)

You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll experience what it's like to be fully human in the face of being the main caregiver for a loved one during End-of-Life care.
Doreen Cox chronicles her three-year journey as her beloved mother's "care bear" in a way that brought me right into her world of struggle, conflict, humor, acceptance. Coinciding with her mother's physical and cognitive decline due to multiple medical issues and dementia is Doreen's journey of self-discovery. Her writing voice is heartbreakingly honest,authentic and believable, reflecting the wide range of feelings experienced by a family member who witnesses the gradual decline of a loved one. As a health care provider, I found her grasp of the physiological changes occurring in her mother as a result of her medical conditions, to be amazing. She uses her understanding of what changes are taking place as a guide to responding to her mother in a compassionate, loving way. This seems to help her accept and accommodate for these changes. As her mother declines, her role changes from Doreen's mother to Doreen's child and Doreen is forced to understand and accept this. She begins to see the dementia as a blessing in that her mother retains her loving nature without realizing all she is missing. We see how caring for a loved one becomes a spiritual journey that enriches one's life while challenging and pushing one beyond what they feel they can handle.
Adventures in Mother-Sitting is not only an engaging, poignant story, it is a valuable guide for anyone who has ever had to face being a caregiver for a loved one during the End-of-Life. A beautiful love story.… (plus d'informations)

Adventures in Mother Sitting is a book written by the daughter of a woman with Alzheimer’s disease. Doreen Cox wrote from raw and real emotions and experiences. She took the reader through her journey, preserved in journals, in a way that draws the reader into her life, and into her home which she shared with her mother for whom she became a “care bear”.

Three things that stood out to me in a less positive way are: 1. I have never read anything where the author used quotation marks as freely as in this book. 2. It felt as if chapters 11 and 12 yanked me right out of the story and were not necessary. 3. Some repetition seemed unneeded as the reader can understand what was said and will likely remember most of it from before when encountering things that relate back.

Now, that out of the way, the great things about this book are the honesty with which the author wrote and her willingness to share it all. She told in great detail, some parts difficult to read because of the exposed reality of the disease, about how Alzheimer’s (dementia) steals from its victim. Not only are memories stolen, but the memory of how to do even the simplest things disappears. The brain is confused and damaged by the disease, affected in such a way so as to make it stop relaying the usual messages we all take for granted, such as how to eat, dress, carry on a conversation. There is so much to learn about Alzheimer’s, so much to understand in caring for someone afflicted. Doreen opens a window into seeing what it is like living with that horrible disease, and how acutely needed are love, compassion, patience, understanding. She also bravely shared how it sometimes became too much for her when she was sleep deprived and exhausted, and how she coped – or failed to cope – with the demands on her.

Adventures in Mother Sitting is told with humour, love, and tenderness, but also with a sometimes shocking truth. It is raw, revealing, and perhaps awkward for some people to read, but it should be read anyway.

Two years ago I wrote a review of Still Alice – a fiction novel about a woman who learned she had Alzheimer’s, and covers two years of her life as the disease gradually takes over her brain’s ability to function. It is a book highly recommended among caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients, and during our Alzheimer Caregiver Support Group meeting this month I recommended Adventures in Mother Sitting by Doreen Cox.

If you are facing dementia in any way, particularly as a caregiver of someone so afflicted, I suggest you read this book. It will help you to understand more from the viewpoint of the caregiver, enabling you to see from the author’s experience how the disease changes a person’s abilities and mind to that of total dependence.… (plus d'informations)