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Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver: A Q & A with author Robert Hershberger

Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver: A Q & A with author Robert Hershberger

June 9th, 2022

We talked to Robert Hershberger, the author of Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver about his experiences as a caregiver to a loved one with Alzheimer’s and the process of writing their story to inform others.

 

Q: Will you please give us a brief description of your book?

A: The book (diary) provides an up close and personal view of Deanna (Dee) Hershberger’s four-and-a-half year journey through Alzheimer’s disease, from its first manifestations to her death.

Q: What is the goal of your book?

A: The goal is to make others aware of and better prepared to deal with what might happen to them or a loved one if either one should contract the disease.

 

Q: What motivated you to write the book?

A: I began to keep a record of changes in Dee’s disease to answer questions from medical personnel about the course of the disease. When changes began to occur rather rapidly I began to record them on the computer several times a week. As the disease progressed I recorded the happenings of each day late in the evening after Dee fell asleep. It became a kind of diary recorded on my laptop computer. It also allowed me to unload the emotional toll of the day so I could get some sleep…an important unplanned benefit of keeping the diary.

A year or two after Dee passed I reviewed the diary entries and realized things had happened to us that other’s could profit from should they ever find themselves in a similar situation. That is what really motivated me to make the diary into a book.

 

 

Q: What surprised you most about what you and Dee experienced?

A: There were so many surprises this is a hard question to answer. I guess the most surprising was how unprepared I was to deal with the situation. We thought we were “bullet proof” and would go on living until someday in the far future we would die. It certainly never occurred to me that Dee would contract such a horrible disease and die while still relatively young. She had always been a model of health in every way.

 

Q: What advice do you have for someone at the beginning of their journey with Alzheimer’s or Alzheimer’s caregiving?

A: Currently there is nothing much the person with Alzheimer’s can do once they know they have it. The disease has already progressed to the point where nothing will change its inevitable course toward death. On the other hand, the primary caregiver (usually the husband, the wife, or one of the children) will suddenly be thrust into the role without any preparation. In this case I recommend reading the Diary…for a possible “worst case” scenario, The 36 Hour Day for practical caregiving advice, Still Alice (or the movie) for what might happen early on, and, perhaps, In Love for an alternative that may work for some people. It is urgent that the caregiver read these and other books right away because it won’t be long before they will not have time or energy to do so. Also get your financial affairs in order very early on when your loved one can still agree to needed changes.

 

You can get 30% off Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver and any other Purdue University Press book by ordering from our website and using the code PURDUE30 at checkout.


Sept. 20 Opening Reception for “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness” Features Presentation by NY Times Best-Selling Author and Purdue & Tecumseh Postdoctoral Fellow Terese Mailhot

September 13th, 2018

Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness
A panel from the exhibit, “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness,” which is now open (thru October 24) in the Humanities, Social Science, and Education (HSSE) Library’s Periodical Reading Room (room 135).

The Purdue University Libraries, in partnership with the Native American Educational and Cultural Center (NAECC) at Purdue, is hosting the traveling exhibition “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness.” The exhibit was developed by the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and it focuses on the interconnectedness of wellness, illness, and cultural life for Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.

The exhibition will be on display in the Humanities, Social Science, and Education (HSSE) Library from Friday, Sept. 14-Wednesday, Oct. 24 in the Periodical Reading Room (first floor) and is open during the HSSE Library’s hours. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

The U.S. NLM developed and produced the exhibit, and the ALA Public Programs Office, in partnership with NLM, lends the exhibit to libraries across the U.S. Ann O’Donnell, library assistant, applied to host the exhibit in 2015, and she was notified the same year that Purdue Libraries was selected as a host site. Purdue Libraries is only one of the two locations in Indiana that will run the “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness.”

A series of programs will supplement the exhibition, with the kickoff opening event featuring Terese Marie Mailhot, author of the 2018 New York Times’ best-seller, “Heart Berries: A Memoir.” Mailhot, who is currently a Tecumseh Postdoctoral Fellow at Purdue University and serves as a faculty member at the Institute of American Indian Arts, will deliver “Heart Berries: A Reading with the Author” beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20 in the HSSE Library, room 142.

The series will also include Purdue faculty presentations and a screening of the documentary, “Don’t Get Sick After June: American Indian Healthcare.”

Details for each program in the series are listed below.

About “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness”

The traveling exhibition includes six informative panels that feature stories drawn from both the past and the present, exploring how the determinants of health for Native People are tied to community, the land, and spirit. Each panel also has interactive iPads to complement and enhance the banners. The content in “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness” provides a robust selection of videos, imagery, and personal stories that delve into several themes, including the impact of epidemics, federal legislation, the loss of land, and the inhibition of culture on the health of Native individuals and communities today.

For more information, contact O’Donnell at atodonne@purdue.edu or at (765) 494-9844.