Us Against Alzheimers, Marita Golden
Us Against Alzheimers, Marita Golden
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Synopsis

This groundbreaking multicultural anthology shares moving personal stories about the impacts of Alzheimer’s and dementia.An estimated 5.7 million Americans are afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease, including ten percent of those over sixty-five, and it is the sixth leading cause of death. But its effects are more pervasive: For the nearly six million sufferers, there are more than sixteen million family caregivers and many more family members. Alzheimer’s wreaks havoc not only on brain cells—it is a disease of the spirit and heart for not only those who suffer from it, but also for their families.This groundbreaking anthology presents forty narratives, both nonfiction and fiction, that together capture the impact and complexity of Alzheimer’s and other dementias on patients, as well as their caregivers and family. Deeply personal, recounting the wrenching course of a disease that kills a loved one twice—first they forget who they are, and then the body succumbs—these stories also show how witnessing the disease and caring for someone with it can be powerfully transformative, calling forth amazing strength and grace.

About Marita Golden

Marita Golden is the award-winning author of sixteen works of fiction and nonfiction, including The Wide Circumference of Love, a 2017 NPR Best Book and 2018 NAACP Image Award nominee, published by Arcade. She is the cofounder and president emeritus of the Hurston/Wright Foundation and a veteran teacher of writing. She has served as a member of the faculties of the MFA graduate creative writing programs at George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University and in the MA creative writing program at John Hopkins University, and has taught writing internationally to a variety of constituencies. A longtime resident of Washington, DC, she currently lives in Mitchellville, Maryland.

About George Vradenburg

George Vradenburg is chairman of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, which he cofounded in October 2010. He was named by US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to serve on the Advisory Council on Research, Care, and Services established by the National Alzheimer’s Project Act and has testified before Congress about the global Alzheimer’s pandemic. He is a member of the World Dementia Council. He and UsAgainstAlzheimer’s co-convene both the Leaders Engaged on Alzheimer’s Disease (LEAD) Coalition and the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease. With his wife Trish (1946–2017), George has long been a dedicated member of Washington’s civic and philanthropic community. George served as chairman of The Phillips Collection for thirteen years and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of Washington. He has served in senior executive and legal positions at CBS, FOX and AOL/Time Warner. George and Trish published TikkunMagazine for ten years.

About David Shenk

David Shenk is the author of five national bestsellers including The Forgetting, Data Smog, and, most recently, The Immortal Game. He is a contributor to National Geographic, Slate, Gourmet, Harper’s, the New Yorker, NPR, and PBS.

About Arthur Morey

Read by Arthur Morey, Joe Barrett, Adenrele Ojo, Pam Ward, Ann Richardson, Roxanne Hernandez, Mirron Willis, Robin Miles, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Caroline Shaffer, Pamela Almand, Janina Edwards, Hillary Huber, Nancy Wu, Mark Branhall, Karen White, Neil Shah, and Erica Sullivan

About Joe Barrett

Joe Barrett began his acting career at the age of five in the basement of his family's home in upstate New York. He has gone on to play many stage roles, both on and off-Broadway, and in regional theaters from Los Angeles, Houston, and St. Louis to Washington DC, San Francisco, and Portland, Maine. He has appeared in films and television, both prime time and late night, and in hundreds of television and radio commercials. Joe has narrated over two hundred audiobooks. He has been an Audie Award finalist eight times, and his narration of Gun Church by Reed Farrel Coleman won the 2013 Audie Award for Original Work. AudioFile magazine has granted Joe fourteen Earphones Awards, including for James Salter's All That Is and Donald Katz's Home Fires. Regarding Joe's narration of John Irving's A Prayer For Owen Meany, AudioFile said, "This moving book comes across like a concerto . . . with a soloist-Owen's voice-rising from the background of an orchestral narration." Joe is married to actor Andrea Wright, and together they have four very grown children.

About Adenrele Ojo

Adenrele Ojo is a native Philadelphian who currently resides in Los Angeles by way of New York. She is a wearer of many creative hats: actress, voice-over artist, writer, producer, and photographer. Adenrele is a theater baby (daughter of the late founder of The New Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia, John E. Allen Jr.) who received her BA in theater from Hunter College in New York and honed her skills at the William Esper Studio, studying Meisner under the auspices of Maggie Flanigan. No stranger to the stage, a few of her theater credits include August Wilson's Jitney (NJPAC); Bronzeville (Robey Theatre Co.); Joe Turner's Come and Gone (nominated for an L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Award for Featured Actress); and The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza, directed by Shirley Jo Finney, which won the 2010 L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Award & the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Ensemble. She moves from stage to screen in such feature films as Within; Family; Elevate and Bathroom Vanities, a don't-judge-a-book-by-it's-cover comedy about one woman's unforgettable experience in a ladies' bathroom, directed by Christopher Scott Cherot (Hav Plenty and G), which Adenrele starred, cowrote and produced under the umbrella of her production company, NeW YiLLy Entertainment. Ojo's voice can also be heard on many audiobooks, which she has been recording since 2007 and for which she has received several AudioFile Earphones Awards. Some of her works include Katie Couric's The Best Advice I Ever Got, Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill, The Mothers by Brit Bennett (AudioFile Best of 2016 Fiction), Weapons of Mass Seduction by Lori Bryant-Woolridge, Oprah's Book Club 2.0 pick, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis, The Healing by Jonathan Odell, Unforgivable Love by Sophfronia Scott and Billions and Billions by Carl Sagan. When she is not recording, you can sometimes find her directing authors, celebrity actors, and other audiobook narrators.

About Pam Ward

Pam Ward has had many incarnations, including private detective, classical musician, television talk-show host, and actress, having performed in dinner theater, summer stock, and Off-Broadway, as well as in commercials, radio, and film. But she found her true calling reading books for the blind and physically handicapped for the Library of Congress Talking Books program, for which she received the prestigious Alexander Scourby Award from the American Foundation for the Blind. An AudioFile Earphones Award winner, her many audiobooks include Dancing in the Streets by Barbara Ehrenreich, Breaking Free by Lauraine Snelling, The Second Journey by Joan Anderson, and Lion in the White House by Aida D. Donald. She now records from her studio amidst the beauty of the Southern Oregon mountains.

About Ann Richardson

Ann Richardson was raised in the Midwest, where she was active in drama and singing. Her varied work experience has lent itself well to narration, as she's no stranger to the terminology used in wildlife management, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, education, and the automotive industry. A devoted volunteer for Learning Ally (formerly Recording For the Blind and Dyslexic), she has narrated numerous audiobooks in a wide variety of genres.

About Roxanne Hernandez

Roxanne Hernandez is a 2011 Audie Award Finalist, and a top narrator choice for Young Adult, Adult Drama, and Latin American/Chicano literature. Roxanne is fluent in English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, and loves doing first person point of view.

About Mirron Willis

Mirron Willis has narrated over 200 audiobooks across various literary genres and has won several Earphone Awards for Excellence and is an Audie Award finalist and winner. Notable works include Ginny Gall by Charlie Smith, The Smokey Dalton Series by Kris Nelscott; My Song: A Memoir by Harry Belafonte; The Long Fall (Booklist, Best of 2009) and others by Walter Mosley; Uncle Tom's Cabin, Elijah of Buxton, The Translator; and Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B Dubois. In three seasons at the Ensemble Theatre (Houston, Texas), Mirron appeared as JP in What I Learned in Paris, Malcolm X in The Meeting, Henry in Race, and as Countee Cullen in Knock Me a Kiss (2013 Giorgee Award for Best Leading Actor). Other roles include Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry VI Parts 2 & 3, and A Raisin in the Sun with the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has also performed as guest narrator with the Houston Symphony. Film and TV guest appearances include Criminal Minds, Private Practice, The Exes, Monk, 24, Seinfeld, Cheers, The Parkers, Living Single, E.R., Star Trek, and Independence Day, among others. Mirron resides and records audiobooks on his family's historic ranch in East Texas.

About Joniece Abbott-Pratt

With an MFA in acting from the University of Iowa, Joniece Abbott-Pratt has performed on regional theater stages across the country, including The Public Theater in New York City. She has also appeared on numerous television shows, including The Good Fight, Law and Order: SVU, Luke Cage, and Orange Is the New Black.

About Caroline Shaffer

Caroline Shaffer studied theater at the Weber Douglas Academy in London and received her master's degree from the American Conservatory Theater. A voiceover artist in addition to an actor, she has lent her talents to multiple projects ranging from television, film, commercials, and cartoons. An avid reader, she spends her free time reading anything from classics to new releases.

About Pamela Almand

Pamela Almand is a professional narrator and voiceover talent. An Audie Award nominee, she began her voice-acting career in 1995 with a Tylenol spot for national TV and did voiceover work all over the world during her time as an international 747 captain for Northwest Airlines.

About Janina Edwards

Janina Edwards is a graduate of the acting program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Based in Atlanta, she voices webinars, eLearning, and audiobooks in a variety of genres, including drama, romance, nonfiction, and mysteries.

About Hillary Huber

Hillary Huber is a multiple Audie Award finalist, an Earphones Award winner, and an AudioFile Best Voice. She has recorded over six hundred titles spanning many genres and holds a bachelor's degree in English literature. A voracious reader and listener, she was raised in Connecticut and Hawaii but now splits her time between California and New York.

About Nancy Wu

Nancy Wu is an award-winning narrator who has worked in animation, television, theater, and film. Having lived and recorded all over the world, she is known for her vivid action/fantasy characters, accents, and bringing literature and nonfiction equally to life. A graduate of Amherst College with her master's degree in human rights, she is an avid Ashtanga yoga practitioner and rock climber. Born and raised in West Virginia, she currently resides in Boulder, Colorado.

About Mark Bramhall

Mark Bramhall has won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration, more than thirty AudioFile Earphones Awards, and has repeatedly been named by AudioFile magazine and Publishers Weekly among their “Best Voices of the Year.” He is also an award-winning actor whose acting credits include off-Broadway, regional, and many Los Angeles venues as well as television, animation, and feature films. He has taught and directed at the American Academy of Dramatic Art.

About Karen White

Karen White is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-five novels, including Dreams of Falling and The Night the Lights Went Out. She has two grown children and currently lives near Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and two spoiled Havanese dogs.

About Neil Shah

Neil Shah is an Audie Award-nominated narrator and voiceover artist who has recorded numerous audiobooks, including I Am an Executioner by Rajesh Parameswaran, The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais, and Stringer: A Reporter's Journey In the Congo by Anjan Sundaram. He is a classically trained actor with an MFA from the Old Globe/University of San Diego program and has appeared on off-Broadway and regional stages, as well as in film and television. Neil currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife.

About Erica Sullivan

Erica Sullivan is a professional actress of both stage and screen and holds her MFA from the Yale School of Drama. Currently a company member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, she has performed in New York and regionally with such companies as the Lincoln Center, Soho Repertory Theatre, and New Dramatists. She makes her home in Ashland, Oregon, with her family.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Cardyn on September 05, 2021

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Goodreads review by Danielle on September 05, 2019

Us Against Alzheimer’s is a powerful collection of stories. Each one made me feel less alone against this horrible battle. My grandmother suffers from this disease. There is still no cure this disease. It’s a difficult journey to travel with your loved one. Not only is this book a good read for the......more

Goodreads review by Vnunez-Ms_luv2read on August 13, 2019

This book although about a disease that can rob a person of many things, is very beautifully written. Some of the stories are heart breaking, some will make you smile. This book gives one a peek into dealing with someone with Alzheimer’s. Blessings to the caregivers and a big thank you for sharing y......more

Goodreads review by El on March 01, 2023

This was great to read to know you’re not alone when you’ve been affected but maybe I shouldn’t have tried to finish it so fast. It’s was quite overwhelming and long. Some stores are witty or moving or relatable.......more

Goodreads review by Heather on May 19, 2019

Us Against Alzheimer's is a good book on the rough subject of Alzheimer's. My family has had several members who have had this horrible disease and I could relate to some of this book.......more


Quotes

“The stories in this anthology are moving and illuminating. I believe in the power of story to educate and demystify, to demolish fear and shame, to generate conversation and connectedness. To humanize. It is through stories like these that we begin to understand people living with Alzheimer’s, and maybe—through empathy and compassion—we can heal what can’t yet be cured.” Lisa Genova, New York Times bestselling author

“This anthology is terrific. It is the perfect read for those who have or have had the Alzheimer’s experience. The stories are heartfelt and real, and will make a difference in the lives of many. Another excellent piece of work from Marita Golden!” Goldie S. Byrd, Alzheimer’s researcher and director, Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, Wake Forest School of Medicine

“Alzheimer’s can be isolating and terrifying, but when we share powerful stories like these, we begin to tear down the walls that keep it in the shadows. The powerful voices in this book shine a light full of humanity, heart, and healing to a disease that has affected so many.” Lauren and Seth Rogen, founders of Hilarity For Charity

“Here is what’s so beautiful about this book: It is chock full of people sticking their necks out and telling their story. With clarity, with patience, with feeling, with faith.” David Shenk, cohost of the podcast The Forgetting: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s, author of The Forgetting, and creator of the Living with Alzheimer’s Film Project