Chances are high that if you don’t already know someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another memory impairment, you will. There are around 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease and another 3 to 4 million with mild cognitive impairment, which may be a precursor of Alzheimer’s. About 10 million Baby Boomers are at risk for the disease and at least 90 million people in the US take care of someone with Alzheimer’s. Many more know someone with the disease. But there remain many misconceptions about Alzheimer’s, and about memory loss more general, from whether it is treatable to what causes it.

The Alzheimer’s Action Plan: The Experts’ Guide to the Best Diagnosis and Treatment for Memory Problems by Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy and Lisa P. Gwyther brings together a leading specialist in the disease and related conditions and a social worker with years of experience working with Alzheimer’s families to create a guide that walks whose with Alzheimer’s and their loved ones through tests, treatments, and prognosis, answers common questions, and helps produce an action plan for dealing with the disease.

Both authors are intimately familiar with the ins and outs of the condition, Dr. Doraiswamy is Chief of Biological Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center and Lisa Gwyther founded and heads the Alzheimer’s Family Support Program at Duke and is a past president of the Gerontological Society of America.

The authors set out to answer the central question that families of Alzheimer’s patients may want to ask but be afraid to – what would you do if it was your relative? – and never shy away from the difficult, confusing, and embarrassing parts of dealing with the disease. They also discuss other conditions causing memory loss that in their early stages may be confused with Alzheimer’s.

Unlike books crammed with medical terms and dense technical language, The Alzheimer’s Action Plan is clear, straight-forward, and easy to read, while still conveying a wealth of information on every aspect of Alzheimer’s from early warning signs to dealing with personality changes to enrolling in clinical trials of new drugs. The authors even give advice on techniques that may prevent the development of Alzheimer’s or slow its progression and include a list of answers to the forty most commonly asked questions on Alzheimer’s for quick and easy reference.

The Alzheimer’s Action Plan has been hailed as a definitive book on the subject and has received a starred review in Library Journal. The Journal of the American Medical Association said “[t]his exceptionally well-written, reader-friendly book will become the standard resource for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and their loved ones.” The Wall Street Journal deemed it “one of the best books about this illness to cross our desks.” And Dr. Peter Rabins, co-author of the leading book on Alzheimer’s The 36-Hour Day, called it “[a] readable, informative, and thorough guide to the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. I highly recommend it.”

Deepak Chopra has hailed The Alzheimer’s Action Plan as “the most comprehensive and up-to-date guide for the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer’s disease. Whether you are a health care professional or have Alzheimer’s in your family or are simply interested in living to an old age, this book is a must read.”

By Caroline Patton