“God’s Not Forgotten Me. Experiencing Faith in Dementia.” Well worth your time.

IMG_5237This is an important and readable book, and a significant contribution to our understanding of dementia. Tricia Williams explores what it is like to be a person of faith, facing the onset of dementia related illness, and living through the impact of memory loss on the experience and practice of faith, and on the inner world in which faith is nurtured and nourished. I have read the research on which this book is based, and have much enjoyed this more accessible edition. The author is thoroughly conversant with current study and has thought deeply and compassionately about the care and accompaniment of people living with dementia.
 
I often hesitate to use the word "essential" in a book recommendation. But at present I'm not aware of another book based on qualitative research, analysing and exploring first-hand accounts of the experience of dementia, as it impinges on a person's felt and experienced relationship to God. The result is a book that opens up those inner worlds, and does so with imagination, compassion, and good questions for faith communities seeking to be hospitable places of welcome and support for people living with dementia. The result is a book that is, yes, essential reading on the subject.
 
Below is the endorsement I was happy to write for Tricia Williams in commendation of her work, "God's Not Forgotten Me. Experiencing Faith in Dementia."
"Williams has written a distinctive, accessible, moving and spiritually hopeful account of what it means to live with dementia. With compassionate insight and theological hopefulness, Williams offers spiritual and practical support to those who care for and accompany people living with dementia." 

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