Deus Misereatur

  I've run across it numerous times in my adult life. From extended family to hospice chaplain to the three Presbyterian churches where I have served. Inevitably there will be people in my life with dementia/Alzheimer's. Thus, a few years back I picked up a copy of "Second Forgetting: Remembering the power of the Gospel during Alzheimer's Disease" by Dr. Benjamin T. Mast, professor and chair of the department of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Though I didn't read it back when I purchased it, I found it floating around my library recently and decided it was time. And I was not disappointed! This 192-page softback is straightforward in it's presentation, easily comprehended, and filled with hope for both those who have dementia and their caregivers. Dr. Mast walks readers through the physical and emotional process of dementia, and one of it's major manifestations, Alzheimer's. The description of what hap...

Walking Through Twilight: A Wife's Illness--A Philosopher's Lament by Douglas Groothuis My rating: 5 of 5 stars Alzheimer's and dementia show up in our congregations, academic institutions, corporations and families. According to a recent Science Daily report and others (dated 7 December 2017), it is going to increase from 6 million people in 2017 to some 15 million in 2060. This report, coupled with experiences in my church and in my family, causes me to be on the look out for helpful material that can support caregivers. Therefore I was delighted to pick up and read a new work penned by Douglas Groothuis, professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary and accomplished author. "Walking Through Twilight: A Wife's Illness--A Philosopher's Lament" is a 176 page paperback written from the personal and reflective perspective of the caregiver. "Walking Through Twilight" mildly chronicles the eerie, "odd and mystifying unraveling of" (26) t...