When Memory Fades

A geriatrician whose perspective on his specialty changed when his own father was diagnosed with dementia provides clear, calm questions to ask and tasks to tackle—as well as what not to worry about—from the first moments of concern.

When Nate Chin’s father, also a doctor, began to feel his mind slipping, even a family as knowledgeable and capable as theirs was knocked back on its heels, disorganized, and unsure of what to do first. Chin, who in addition to his practice, became one of his father’s primary caregivers until he died, determined to figure out the best way to move forward, for his own family, his patients, and now for everyone else.

WHEN MEMORY FADES is clear, smart, and cuts through the understandable impulse to grasp at ineffective treatments. From the first concerns that something might be wrong right through to the toughest stages of the disease, Chin gives granular information and frames topics that help readers figure out how to think about what’s happening:

—How to Distinguish Normal Signs of Aging from Clinical Dementia
—How to Avoid Delaying Assessment
—Navigating the Medical Exam
—How to Plan & Run a Family Meeting
—Focus on the early stages/transition period to full disease can be determinative to both quality of patient life and interactions
—How to Set New Routines & Healthy Habits
—Day to Day Patient Care
—Community and Connection, and How to Maintain Them
—Dying of Alzheimer’s is Just Dying

Author Biography

NATHANIEL CHIN, MD, is the medical director and clinical core co-lead of the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention (WRAP), one of the world’s largest and longest-running studies of individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to seeing patients in his clinic, Dr. Chin teaches medical students as an associate professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Medicine. He serves on the boards of the Alzheimer’s Association (AA) and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) and hosts the podcast, Dementia Matters.