Navigating the waters of dementia can be frightening, unleashing a myriad of emotions for everyone involved. After Vicki Tapia’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, followed closely by her father with Parkinson’s disease-related dementia, she struggled to find practical, helpful information to light her way. Somebody Stole My Iron began as a diary to help her cope, but emerged as a road map for others. It offers a glimpse into her family’s life as they rode the waves of dementia, sometimes sailing, other times capsizing. This engaging memoir offers useful information from experts within the field of Alzheimer’s research, personal lessons the author learned along the way, and ideas and tips for managing the day-to-day ups and downs of dementia.
“Vicki Tapia’s diary of the decline of her parents’ lives due to Alzheimer’s is a harrowing account of the gradual disintegration and ending of two lives in advanced age. It is also a daughter’s loving memoir, a painstaking tale of the progression of dementia, with its sad, funny, mysterious, baffling, infuriating and frustrating series of incidents. At the end of each chapter Tapia summarizes what she has learned from her experience and how, with hindsight, it could have been improved, providing an excellent practical guide for the reader. This book is both a spellbinding modern tale and an invaluable resource.”
-Valerie Hemingway, author, Running With the Bulls, My Life With the Hemingways
