Chunshek Chan reviewed 失智症世界的旅行指南 by 筧裕介
A rare and valuable look into how a once familiar world devolves into cognitive nightmares for folks suffering from dementia
5 stars
It has been more than 20 years, but I still remember how dementia took a toll on the mind and body of my grandfather towards the last few years of his life – and the stress from taking care of him had eventually shaved decades off my uncle's life too, who passed just one day before he would have officially retired. “Dementia World Travel Guide” (Chinese title: 失智症世界的旅行指南 / original Japanese title: 認知症世界の歩き方) finally gives readers a first-person perspective on why folks with dementia behave the way they do, and what the rest of us on the side can do to make everyone’s lives a bit easier.
Having interviewed more than 100 dementia patients, Yusuke Kakei did a brilliant job depicting 13 bizarre worlds that the patients are plunged into: from a mystery bus where passengers won't be able to get off at their intended destinations, to a whiteout valley …
It has been more than 20 years, but I still remember how dementia took a toll on the mind and body of my grandfather towards the last few years of his life – and the stress from taking care of him had eventually shaved decades off my uncle's life too, who passed just one day before he would have officially retired. “Dementia World Travel Guide” (Chinese title: 失智症世界的旅行指南 / original Japanese title: 認知症世界の歩き方) finally gives readers a first-person perspective on why folks with dementia behave the way they do, and what the rest of us on the side can do to make everyone’s lives a bit easier.
Having interviewed more than 100 dementia patients, Yusuke Kakei did a brilliant job depicting 13 bizarre worlds that the patients are plunged into: from a mystery bus where passengers won't be able to get off at their intended destinations, to a whiteout valley where nobody can ever take a mental image of its breathtaking scenery, to a fusion restaurant where the menus have no words and none of the dishes nor the ingredients have a name, to a village where everyone’s face is the same as everyone else’s…
These strange worlds where one cannot rely on their cognitive abilities are where dementia patients helplessly find themselves.
The “travel guide” describes how a patient would feel in such a world, and how such confusion translates into 44 types of behavior observed by others around.
The book gives its readers a profound understanding of where patients are coming from and where they are struggling the most, so that their friends and families will be able to provide more constructive support and reduce the mental and emotional strains in the relationships.