Tag: mother daughter relationship

Aliceheimer’s: Alzheimer’s Through the Looking Glass

This graphic memoir captures the author’s journey with her mother, Alice, who is diagnosed with dementia. Through a creative blend of writing, visual art, and comics, Walrath weaves elements from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland throughout the text to explore the transformative power of storytelling in navigating the challenges of mental illness, loss, and social stigma. The memoir offers a unique perspective on aging and caregiving, emphasizing the healing potential of graphic narratives by speaking to how visual mediums can communicate more than, or differently from, written text. Collaged illustrations, made in part from Carroll’s text itself, are accompanied by a textual vignette. The combination of text and art results in a cohesive narrative that would lack the same depth and detail if considered in isolation. Graphic medicine, Walrath writes, “lets us better understand those who are hurting, feel their stories, and redraw and renegotiate those social boundaries.” Aliceheimer’s provides a way to introduce and educate people about Alzheimer’s as a medical condition, while highlighting the humanity involved in dealing with it as a family.

This novel could be used in classes regarding narrative medicine, graphic medicine, and/or caregiving experiences. It invites discussions on the role of storytelling in reshaping medical narratives, the impact of stigma on health, and the potential for creative expression in coping with complex health challenges. With Walrath’s background in Medical Anthropology, this book could also be used to ask how researchers personally connect to their work.

Caring for a Parent in my Home

This article describes Beth’s caregiving story as she cares for her elderly mother post-stroke. Beth’s journey captures the complexities, sacrifices, and resilience inherent in caregiving roles. The narrative explores familial dynamics, emotional strains, and the importance of planning and seeking external support. Beth’s evolving experience offers valuable lessons for educators seeking to illustrate the intersection of health, family dynamics, and personal well-being in caregiving narratives. Caregiver.com aims to provide community and support for nontraditional caregivers, such as children caring for their aging parents. As such, the story emphasizes the significance of communication, planning, and self-care.

Laury’s story: ‘Mum became utterly lost in the fog of her own mind.’

Laury reflects on her experience as a caregiver for her mother, who passed away from Alzheimer’s disease. She recounts the journey through various stages of the condition, describing the initial use of memory aids, the gradual loss of her mother’s cognitive and physical abilities, and the difficult decision to place her in residential care. Laury’s story also outlines the challenges of saying goodbye to a loved one at the end of a long disease.

This story can be used for a class interested in the social, emotional, and financial impact of long-term disease on both the patient and caregivers/loved ones. This story could also be used to look at death and dying through a personal and empathetic narrative which can lead to discussions about stigma and fears that surround death, especially for those with chronic or terminal illnesses.

Una carta para mama

Carla tells her story of how her mother’s disposition changed after her father’s hospitalization with diabetes. One day, Carla came home to see her mother, Jaquelina, on the floor. She shook her and slapped her awake. Jaquelina finally woke up to say she wished she had aborted Carla. This is only where the physical and verbal abuse began. Years like this went on and Carla moved out, cutting off all ties. However, after hearing about Jaquelina attending AA, they both began rekindling their bond. Carla comes from Argentina. The audio may be fit for intermediate Spanish learners. This podcast features themes of physical and verbal abuse and therefore may be suitable for an upper level undergraduate course or medical school student.