Adult Nonfiction

When artist Maleonn realizes that his father suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, he creates “Papa’s Time Machine,” a magical, autobiographical stage performance featuring life-size mechanical puppets. Through the production of this play, the two men confront their mortality before time runs out and memories are lost forever.

ADULT NONFICTION

Cheng, Nien. Life and Death in Shanghai.New York, NY: Grafton Books, 1986.
A first-hand account of China's Cultural Revolution. Nien Cheng, an anglophile and fluent English-speaker who worked for Shell in Shanghai under Mao, was put under house arrest by Red Guards in 1966 and subsequently jailed. All attempts to make her confess to the charges of being a British spy failed; all efforts to indoctrinate her were met by a steadfast and fearless refusal to accept the terms offered by her interrogators. When she was released from prison she was told that her daughter had committed suicide. In fact Meiping had been beaten to death by Maoist revolutionaries.

Harper, Lynn Casteel. On Vanishing: Mortality, Dementia, and What it Means to Disappear. New York, NY: Catapult, 2020.
In On Vanishing, Lynn Casteel Harper, a Baptist minister and nursing home chaplain, investigates the myths and metaphors surrounding dementia and aging, addressing not only the indignities caused by the condition but also by the rhetoric surrounding it. Harper asks essential questions about the nature of our outsized fear of dementia, the stigma this fear may create, and what it might mean for us all to try to "vanish well." Weaving together personal stories with theology, history, philosophy, literature, and science, Harper confronts our elemental fears of disappearance and death, drawing on her own experiences with people with dementia both in the American healthcare system and within her own family.

Ingram, Jay. The End of Memory: A Natural History of Aging and Alzheimer’s. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books, 2015.
It is a wicked disease that robs its victims of their memories, their ability to think clearly, and ultimately their lives. For centuries, those afflicted by Alzheimer's disease have suffered its debilitating effects while family members sit by, watching their loved ones disappear a little more each day until the person they used to know is gone forever. The disease was first described by German psychologist and neurologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906. One hundred years and a great deal of scientific effort later, much more is known about Alzheimer's, but it still affects millions around the world, and there is no cure in sight.

Jebelli, Joseph. In Pursuit of Memory: The Fight Against Alzheimer’s. New York, NY: Little, Brown Spark, 2017.
Alzheimer's is the great global epidemic of our time, affecting millions worldwide - there are more than 5 million people diagnosed in the US alone. And as our population ages, scientists are working against the clock to find a cure.
Neuroscientist Joseph Jebelli is among them. His beloved grandfather had Alzheimer's and now he's written the book he needed then - a very human history of this frightening disease.

Kozol, Jonathan. The Theft of Memory: Losing my Father one Day at a Time. New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 2015.
National Book Award-winning author, Jonathan Kozol, shares his father’s life story. Dr. Harry Kozol was a nationally recognized neurologist who treated prominent figures, such as the playwright Eugene O’Neill. When diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, his father was able to narrate his own descent into memory loss. Jonathan captures his connection with his father, even as Harry’s verbal and cognitive skills disappear.

Leavitt, Sarah. Tangles: A Story about Alzheimer’s, my Mother, and Me. New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing, 2012.
This graphic memoir written and illustrated by Sarah Leavitt shares how the Alzheimer’s disease affected her mother, Midge, as well as the whole family who came together to be caretakers and support for each other. The simple black and white drawings go through all of the stages of her family’s journey with Alzheimer’s and emphasizes the strong bond between mother and daughter.

McDermott, Simon. The Songaminute Man: A Tribute to the Unbreakable Bond between Father and Son. New York, NY: Park Row Books, 2018.
Ted McDermott enjoyed a long career as an entertainer before his Alzheimer's diagnosis in 2013. As the disease took its toll on Ted's relationships, memory, and mood, his son Simon found a way for them to connect again: carpool karaoke.

Mitter, Rana. Modern China: A Very Short Introduction.Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2016. China today is never out of the news: from international finance to human rights controversies, global coverage of its rising international presence, and the Chinese 'economic miracle'. It seems to be a country of contradictions: a peasant society with some of the world's most futuristic cities, heir to an ancient civilization that is still trying to find a modern identity. This Very Short Introduction offers the reader an entry to understanding the world's most populous nation, giving an integrated picture of modern Chinese society, culture, economy, politics, and art.

Powell, Tia. Dementia Reimagined: Building a Life of Joy and Dignity from Beginning to End.New York, NY: Avery Publishing Group, 2019
Despite being a physician and a bioethicist, Tia Powell wasn't prepared to address the challenges she faced when her grandmother, and then her mother, were diagnosed with dementia - not to mention confronting the hard truth that her own odds aren't great. In the U.S., 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day; by the time a person reaches 85, their chances of having dementia approach 50 percent. Dr. Powell's goal is to move the conversation away from an exclusive focus on cure to a genuine appreciation of care--what we can do for those who have dementia, and how to keep life meaningful and even joyful.

VanderMeer, Jeff. The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature. New York, NY: Abrams Image, 2011. Steampunk, a grafting of Victorian aesthetic and punk rock attitude onto various forms of science-fiction culture, is a phenomenon that has come to influence film, literature, art, music, fashion, and more. The Steampunk Bible is the first compendium about the movement, tracing its roots in the works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells through its most recent expression in movies such as Sherlock Holmes.

Zukerman, Eugenia. Like Falling Through a Cloud: A Lyrical Memoir.Glasgow, UK: East End Press, 2019.
What if the dreaded world of Alzheimer's was also a world of emotional discovery? Eugenia Zukerman's poetry and simple prose, both heartbreaking and ultimately inspirational, ushers the reader into her world as she unflinchingly examines familial loyalties, moments from her past and present, and the need to face an uncertain future due to the diagnosis of a condition that she truly hopes "will remain unnamed." Flutist, writer, artistic director of major music series, television journalist, educator and internet entrepreneur, Zukerman addresses her "lapses and losses" as she confronts and deals with a future under the shadow of her Alzheimer's diagnosis.