Tag Archives: Alzheimer’s

August 15, 2026 · 1:32 pm

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living with Alzheimer’s & Other Dementias audiobook version is now available

If you’ve been following The Memories Project for awhile, you may remember that a story about my father’s dementia experience is included in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living with Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias. This week, the audiobook companion version was released.

I’m not usually a huge fan of audiobooks but I have to say that these stories really come to life when you hear them spoken aloud. My story is called “French Toast.” You can purchase the audiobook version from your favorite retailer. Below is where I found my story but the chapter/track numbering may vary depending upon your preferred platform settings.

All of the stories are excellent and worth listening to; here are some of my favorites:

  • The Clock with One Hand
  • The Lady in the Mirror
  • The Bird
  • Talking Potato
  • The Bear
  • The Pianist
  • My Valentine

I like the fact that the collections spans the wide spectrum of experiences once can have on the dementia journey, from frustrating to heartbreaking to humorous. I typically focus on the negative aspects of the disease, so I was pleasantly surprised when my humorous story was chosen for this collection. It’s a reminder that humor can make a difference even in the darkest of times. I could have shelved the incident that inspired “French Toast” and never shared it beyond family, but something prompted me to submit it to a Chicken Soup for the Soul callout. And now all of these years later, almost 15 years after my father’s death, this little story now has the opportunity once again to put a smile on weary people’s faces.

Looking for more audio-based dementia content? Check out The Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast. A recent episode focuses on dementia care.

Book cover image courtesy of Chicken Soup for the Soul.

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August 9, 2026 · 3:06 pm

4 things to say before a loved one dies

Two people holding hands near a hospital bed with an elderly patient
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What should one say to a loved one who is dying?

It’s something that many people struggle with. I know I did, and the matter is complicated with a loved one who has dementia. It’s also a very personal conversation. But according to Dr. Ira Byock, a palliative care physician and author of The Four Things That Matter Most, these four simple phrases can say a lot:

“Please forgive me. I forgive you. Thank you. I love you.”

I wrote about my struggles with final words for my mother and father in The Reluctant Caregiver. Shortly before his death, while my father was in an induced coma, I expressed my love to him daily and I hope he felt the love that was surrounding him. With my mother, it was a mix of missed opportunities and missing the mark, but love was still shared. Death is often messy and unpredictable and not the carefully choreographed deathbed scenes depicted in films.

Other tips included in the Time article: try to balance out what you need to say to be at peace after your loved one’s death without overwhelming the dying person in their waning moments. The best time to relay your feelings is now.

What not to say to someone who is dying? The experts agreed that “I know how you feel” is the top phrase to avoid. Not only is it factually untrue, it makes the discussion more about you and your feelings than the dying person. Another phrase to avoid is anything concerned with quitting. Frustrated loved ones may not understand a person’s decision to stop treatment, but that is not for them to decide, and to judge a dying person as a quitter creates an unfair burden.

If you are agonizing over the right words to say, you may be surprised to learn that experts in death and dying shared that sometimes, silence is golden. Just being present in the room, holding someone’s hand, and listening if they are able to speak is profoundly meaningful.

What works for end-of-life conversations can also work for those moving through stages of dementia. If there are things you want to tell your loved one with dementia, don’t hesitate to share while they are still able to comprehend. I wish I had shared more with my father during that precious time.

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August 2, 2026 · 9:00 am

How will AI impact cognitive functioning?

Your Phone is Your External Brain: Understanding “Digital Dementia”
Brain with neon circuits and glowing connections in space
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I was reading a blog post about how smartphones now serve as our external brains, which can lead to increased cognitive offloading. Some people refer to this as “digital dementia.” An example: how many phone numbers of relatives and close friends do you know by heart? Beyond my own phone number, I can’t remember a single one for a living relative. I can still remember my parents’ landline phone number, because I called it every week for years.

And that’s the point: As explained in the blog post linked above, the brain’s memory muscles needs to be worked out on a regular basis. If you haven’t bothered to learn a new friend’s phone number because it’s conveniently stored in your phone’s contacts list, your brain doesn’t have the chance to learn it, let alone memorize it.

And that made me think beyond smartphones to AI. Experts are also talking about what skills will be lost when we hand off routine personal and work tasks to an agent bot. I work a lot with data analysis at work and loathe math so I’m keen on offloading such tasks to ChatGPT. However, LLMs are notoriously bad at math, so I need to check its work, which means I still need to know how to do the calculations in order to ensure accuracy.

As AI technology improves, there will likely come a day when we trust the results like we do when we manually use a calculator. We know students are already using AI to help (or sometimes replace) their own reading and writing skills. (And sometimes the teacher catches them.) But at what cost? If a bot is reading, writing, doing math, and memorizing key information for us, will we continue to work our brains as much to maintain cognitive health?

It remains to be seen if AI and a potential increase in cognitive offloading will have an impact on Alzheimer’s risk. Perhaps it’s a good thing that diagnostic blood tests are being developed because I can imagine many struggling with the current standard of dementia testing without the help of AI.

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July 26, 2026 · 2:44 pm

Blood test may detect dementia risk a decade before symptoms appear

Seven labeled blood sample tubes with colored caps in a clear rack on a lab bench

Research shared at the 2026 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference demonstrated positive developments for a blood test that can predict increased risk of dementia up to 10 years before initial symptoms surface.

I’ve long followed the research developments when it comes to blood tests for Alzheimer’s because I believe it could help people get diagnosed earlier, where current approved treatments have the best chance of slowing down the disease. We need a simple, minimally-invasive method to detect cognitive changes as early as possible, and the blood biomarker p-tau217 may play a critical role.

According to researchers, study participants with the highest levels of the blood biomarker p-tau217 had an approximately 78% risk of developing cognitive impairment over a 10-year period. P-tau217 is associated with tau tangles in the brain and with levels of beta amyloid, both which are Alzheimer’s hallmarks, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. The full study is published on JAMA.

Elevated levels of protein can exist in a person’s brain with no noticeable memory or thinking problems. It’s important to note that some people have high levels of tau and don’t develop cognitive issues. Still, the results of this study are promising in adding an accessible tool to what can be a frustrating diagnostic process.

While there will be a debate on the value of predictive data for a disease with no cure, a study I reported on earlier this year found that people overwhelmingly support such tests being available. I have always been firmly in the camp of wanting to know what my Alzheimer’s risk is because it runs so rampant in my family. That’s why I’ve done genetic testing, which found I have a copy of the APOE4 gene. If the p-tau217 becomes available to the public, I would seek it out.

If my brain were filled with tau tangles would I drastically change my life? I’m not sure, but we do know that lifestyle changes can have a positive impact on reducing dementia risk. I also think such a finding would prompt me to legally finalize my plans (medical power of attorney, etc.) if I should become cognitively impaired. If test results suggested I was at a much greater risk of developing dementia over the next 10 years, I probably would shift priorities to ensure that any projects that require my full brain power, such as writing another book, get done sooner, rather than later. The same with travel or any other bucket list goals.

I’ve followed Alzheimer’s research closely for about 20 years now, and over the next 20 years, my risk of developing this disease will increase. The current state of research seems to be more on a trajectory of disease management, than a cure. Early testing, lifestyle changes, and better treatments will all play critical roles for how my generation will navigate Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Final call: I’m participating in the Smashwords July Summer/Winter sale. Get my books, including the award-winning The Reluctant Caregiver, for half-off the normal price. The sale runs through July 31.

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June 21, 2026 · 9:00 am

Happy Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day. The Memories Project was started in memory of my father. As a baby, I was definitely daddy’s little girl. As I grew older, I gravitated towards my mother as I spent most of my time with her. Dad worked the swing shift so once I started school, our schedules didn’t overlap much. I moved halfway across the country for college and so Dad and I never had the chance to reconnect on a deeper level.

Alzheimer’s is a cruel reminder of what you’ve lost of a loved one before they are actually gone from this world.

Fortunately I have photos and cards and recordings of my father singing to me when I was a baby so I will always remember that special father-daughter bond we had.

Hope you are able to spend time with your father today or find comfort in the memories.

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June 14, 2026 · 10:00 am

Caregiver guilt can be a motivating force

I came across a documentary series by Peter Murphy Lewis who was recently profiled on Being Patient. He candidly admits to “making a documentary out of guilt.” He was in another country working when his beloved grandfather, who had dementia, died.

From his grief and guilt came the idea for a documentary series, “People Worth Caring About.”


“We treat the buildings where our elders live as places of “sadness,” which inadvertently devalues the people who work there. It turns a noble calling into an invisible job,” Lewis said. His goal with the project is to shine a light on those workers who care for our elder loved ones.

My own family caregiving experience followed a similar road. I was in another state, working, when my father died from Alzheimer’s complications. I too remember getting that dreaded call while on the job. I also experienced a deep amount of guilt that I was mostly a long-distance caregiver. And similar to Lewis, that guilt inspired the birth of a creative project about caregiving. In my case, it’s the blog that you are reading right now, The Memories Project.

If you find yourself weighed down by guilt after the loss of a loved one, consider ways you can honor your loved one’s memory with your own unique skillset. It doesn’t have to be a public project. I know of people who have created a memorial garden in their backyard. It could also be a conscious lifestyle choice: to spend more quality time with family, to travel more, to take up a new hobby or reconnect with an old friend.

Everyone moves through the grief process in their own way. For some, embarking on such a project can bring some meaning and closure to one of the most difficult events a person can experience.

Image generated by Google Gemini.

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June 7, 2026 · 2:56 pm

A reminder about the high cost of Alzheimer’s care

Paying for Managed Care

I write a lot about the high cost of Alzheimer’s care, because I feel it’s vital that society understands just how expensive such specialized care is and how little government support there is to help middle-class families pay for it. I’m sharing this post from Mary K. Doyle who writes about her husband’s Alzheimer’s experience and outlines the costs involved whether one tries to care for their loved one at home or places them in a memory care facility.

As Doyle suggests, the best time to plan for such medical decisions is early in the Alzheimer’s journey. I wrote in The Reluctant Caregiver about the consequences of my parents not being prepared after my father experienced a medical emergency and could not be returned home due to his advanced Alzheimer’s disease. These are tough conversations to have, but being able to make such decisions while your loved one still is able to contribute their wishes is a true gift, and will give you some peace of mind as you navigate care options later down the road.

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May 30, 2026 · 5:36 pm

New study suggests sleep helps clear brain waste, may reduce dementia risk

Older woman sleeping in bed.

One aspect of my health that I’m immensely grateful for is that I’m able to fall asleep easily and consistently get a good night’s sleep. I’ve watched other people, including my mother, struggle with insomnia and how much of an impact it can have on overall well-being. If you or someone you’ve lived with has insomnia, you understand about the nightly anxiety, the restless tossing and turning, the exhaustion that comes with sleep deprivation, and the side effects of sleep medication.

It turns out that sleep quality may play a role in dementia risk. I’ve written about past studies that explored sleep and cognitive health, so this isn’t a new concept. A new study published in Science goes a step further to explore the activities that take place in the brain during sleep and the impact those activities may have on dementia risk.

In essence, during deep sleep, the brain performs housekeeping tasks that helps clear the brain of waste products. Disrupted sleep leads to less clearance of these neurotoxins such as amyloid-beta and tau, which in turn can increase inflammation and degeneration. These proteins are thought to have a connection to Alzheimer’s disease risk, though no definitive link has been established. (Some people with normal cognitive functioning have been identified as having high levels of amyloid-beta and tau in the brain.)

The study’s author also found that “heart-rate variability may be a biomarker of sleep-related brain health.” If further research supports this theory, it would be a simple tool to help identify those with poor sleep quality who may be a greater risk of dementia. If you wear a health tracker, your HRV data may already be collected. My Oura ring captures that information nightly.

They say as you get older you need less sleep; so far I still need about 7 hours to function normally. I used to sleep longer on the weekends but now I don’t, maybe 30 minutes longer if the pets will allow. Working remotely full-time definitely helps, as I’m able to awake naturally without an alarm clock.

According to the study’s author, “Regular sleep schedules, sufficient sleep duration, physical activity, minimizing stress, and avoiding stimulants or bright light exposure late in the evening” is recommended to support healthy sleep.

Illustration AI-generated by WordPress.

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May 17, 2026 · 9:00 am

Alzheimer’s Association offers new brain health challenge

Those of us concerned about Alzheimer’s risk know there are many steps we can take to support our cognitive health, but sometimes the advice can feel overwhelming. Where to begin? What’s more important, exercise or diet? The Alzheimer’s Association is trying to help address this issue by launching a focused 6-step challenge, called “(re)think your brain.”

The challenge will focus on areas such as eating right, getting exercise, and challenging your mind.

Sometimes, a little accountability is all we need to establish a healthy routine. The free program uses an interactive tool to help gauge what you are already doing well to support your brain, and the areas where you could use a little motivation and guidance.

Each participant that completes the initial onboarding process will receive a customized Action Plan. Users can expect to receive via their preferred method of email or text:

  • Practical tips to get started
  • Tools to help build habits that stick
  • Clear guidance from the leaders in brain health

Life gets busy and family caregivers tend to put off self-care. As we head into summer, consider taking the brain challenge.

Illustration generated by Google Gemini.

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May 3, 2026 · 9:00 am

Study finds most people support an Alzheimer’s blood test

A new study found that while many people are not aware of the scientific advances made in blood-based biomarker tests for Alzheimer’s, most support their availability and would be willing to take the test upon their doctor’s recommendation.

I recently wrote about how dried blood samples captured on a card could allow people to do an at-home test for Alzheimer’s biomarkers. But I knew I had written about such blood tests before then, so I dug into The Memories Project archives and sure enough, I found a post from 2014. I didn’t realize it had been 12 years since I had written about the potential for a blood test to diagnose Alzheimer’s. It’s a stark reminder of how long scientific progress can take to reach the general public. As the HealthDay article points out, only a couple of blood tests that check for levels of amyloid and tau proteins in a person’s bloodstream have been approved by the FDA and are not yet ready for widespread use.

The latest study captured the opinions of nearly 600 people, average age 62, from the Chicago area. Over half had a close relative who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. While 84 percent of those surveyed were unaware of blood biomarker tests, 94 percent said it was important to offer such tests to those with suspected memory or cognitive issues. And on another promising note, 85 percent of those surveyed would be willing to take such a test if it was recommended by their doctor.

Getting that public approval is key to maximize the value of screening tests. The study also found that 60% of those surveyed felt it was important to offer blood-based biomarker tests for Alzheimer’s to those age 65 and older on an annual basis.

The study identified potential barriers for blood test adoption, and cost, test reliability, and concerns about the consequences of receiving a positive result were among the top concerns. I would also be concerned about cost and whether the test would be covered by health insurance, as well as reliability. But my opinion about taking such a test hasn’t changed since 2014: I would definitely take such a test. With dementia on both sides of my family tree, I think it’s important to capture any changes in cognitive health as early as possible. The current Alzheimer’s treatments on the market work best for those in the early stages of the disease. Earlier diagnosis gives people the opportunity to make decisions about their future care and to take advantage of quality time with family before significant cognitive decline.

If you have questions or concerns about Alzheimer’s screening options, talk to your doctor.

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