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Book group: FAQs on Dementia

FAQs on Dementia is written by a consultant psychiatrist and an Alzheimer Scotland adviser, with a foreword from the Scottish Dementia Working Group and National Dementia Carers Action Network. 

Keith Oliver, Society Ambassador living with Alzheimer’s, says, ‘I really did like the use of questions to structure the book through chapter titles and then subtitles. 

I liked the structure and progression of the book, which takes the reader through the progression of dementia.

Heather Jeffrie in Lothian, who works for a housing association that houses mainly older people, agrees. 

‘I thought this book tackled a very difficult subject very well,’ she says. 

‘We don’t talk openly about dementia and I think this book burst some of the myths. 

I loved the Q&A style and felt that it presented the facts in such a way that it seemed less frightening.

Clare Crowther in Cornwall and her husband John, who has mixed dementia, also liked how the book’s information was framed from the start. 

‘I liked learning about the authors’ credentials and the foreword, which gave context and a taste of what’s to come in the book,’ says Clare.

Breadth versus depth 

Keith notes the challenge for a book to be in-depth enough about every topic when it covers so many. 

'The comprehensive and broad sweep approach of the book is a double-edged sword,’ he says.

‘It’s helpful in addressing everything, less useful in skimming the surface in a number of cases.’ 

This left Clare and John with unanswered questions after reading chapters about how dementia first develops and what affects your risk of developing it. 

‘It was interesting to learn that disease precedes dementia, though a little confusing,’ says Clare. ‘And I wanted more about cognitive reserve!’

‘I was also at a loss to pick up the relevance of hearing loss to dementia. It features as significant on the risk factors diagram, so is obviously important to understand.’ 

However, Keith adds, ‘I thought the book dealt well on the whole with both the tough and more straightforward questions that  it posed.’ 

Heather appreciated how accessible it was. She says,

It’s a book you could sit down and read from beginning to end, or just dip in and out to find out bits and pieces as things occur to you.

Happy to recommend 

Keith would have liked to hear more directly from people living with the impact of dementia throughout the book. 

‘I regretted that the book failed to include the words, experiences and thoughts of people affected with dementia beyond the opening by the Scottish working group,’ he says. 

I wonder where this book sits in a rapidly expanding library of books – it does add to the knowledge base, but there are a lot of similar books out there.

Yet Keith still thinks this would be a useful book for many people. 

‘On the whole I would be happy to recommend it to someone who has dementia or is a family carer, and is finding it difficult explaining some aspects of the disease and the impacts it is having on them and those closest to them but doesn’t want to read in depth.’ 

Heather adds, ‘I think it is a useful book for everyone – those with dementia, carers, families but also those who think they may have dementia or those of us who may be concerned about the future as we get older. 

A very well written and refreshing book and one that I will share with others.

FAQs on Dementia, by Tom Russ and Michael Huddleston (Sheldon 2023), 160 pages, £12.99 (prices vary), ISBN 9781399802550. Also available as an ebook.