Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia

My dad was diagnosed with dementia at age 71 and now my sisters and I are caring for him. This book has been so good for me. My dad is even reading parts of it now.Pros:1. The author quotes and references scripture a lot. This is always a good thing whatever the situation. We need God's word!2. He explains the medical side, the experience of the person with dementia, and the experience of the caregiver. This helps me understand a little of what it must be like for my dad. It also helps me know what to expect in the future.3. Reading this book helps me be more compassionate with my dad and more patient with my dad and myself.4. I am more willing to make sacrifices to care for my dad.5. I am aware of my need to be walking in the Spirit and depending on the Lord and to ask for help sometimes.6. There are short prayers at the end of the chapter. I love praying with people even in writing! It's such a good way to start applying what you learn in the book.At one point I felt the author was telling me that my dad needed to move into my (3 bedroom) house with me, my husband, and our 2 small children. The author strongly encourages taking care of your loved one with dementia. I had to work through the idea that it doesn't look the same for ever family. My dad wouldn't even want to live with us. And now he in the process of moving to a retirement community near me. That is the best for us and I know I can love and serve my dad well in this situation.So, buy it, read it, pray it.

As a daughter who has struggled with resentment with her mother for several years, and has now found that she is the only one left to care for her mother, this book has brought me much comfort. Before reading this book, I wondered how was I ever going to be able to care for someone I don't even like, when it occurred to me during the reading, that relationship no longer exists. My duty is unto the Lord. My great goal in life is to one day hear the words that I have been good and faithful. I am excited now for the opportunity to serve my God, and quite possibly heal the brokenness that separates me from my mom. Right now, she lives in assisted living, but with book, it's tips, and baby steps maybe we can grow closer. I have FINALLY found something that can give me hope!

God directed me to this book just moments before I knew how much I would need it. Honestly, some of it is difficult to read because you realize what a loved one is going to experience when the later stages of dementia set in and the impact it can have on their caregivers. But Dr. Dunlop offers words of encouragement throughout for those who are facing this disease.Though the book is directed at people with dementia or caring for those who have it, it is a book that every Christian should read. Dr. Dunlop is constantly expressing the need to see the image of God in people and it is a good reminder to every Christian that every person is creating in God's image, we are image bearers. I believe this will become the book I start giving to people whom I know are suffering from health issues or are caring for family members with health issues.Aside from the Bible, this book might be the most influential book I have ever read. Dr. Dunlop, thank you so much for allowing God to use you to present a very readable book, which is scripturally sound, on dementia.

Dr. John Dunlop's FINDING GRACE IN THE FACE OF DEMENTIA is a book you'll find yourself passing around after dementia has touched your family and its welcome pages have found your hands.The author is no stranger to the fog that gathers with dementia, both because of his own family's experience with the quiet drama of it (Dunlop would probably not call it 'tragedy') and because his medical specialization has brought him face to face with similar families and their pain.The author writes with deep Christian conviction that animates rather than deflects him from chapter after empathic and knowledgeable chapter. This book is, for families like mine, a godsend.I bought and read it when my own late father was declining in a nursing home, not because he had been diagnosed with dementia (he had not) but because his own narrowing life made Dunlop's counsel as applicable to my own family's dilemma as it would have been if the diagnosis had been dementia itself. There is, here, good medicine. But there is also a confidence that God's grace (thus the title) is not clouded over when memory fades.Dunlop writes with the pen of a man who has skin in the game, for the likelihood that his own life will know these clouds is—on genetic grounds—considerable.There is a quiet fellowship of those whose have known these clouds, strangers but for this most painful and common experience. So buy three copies, or four.

As far as I have seen it is meant only for family and friends, if that. I am a newly diagnosed patient and am looking for something for me so I have some idea what the near future holds. I only found one chapter which even remotely touched on the patient’s view. And that part I felt like the author was still talking to the caregiver telling them what the patient is thinking and feeling. It had nothing to do with what I’M thinking and feeling. I’m still an intelligent woman (who does make mistakes 👩🏻‍🦳 🤫), I still care for myself, my husband, and my home, I still run two significant ministries, and I can still carry on an intelligent conversation - pretty much. 😉I would NOT recommend this book for dementia patients.

Help in DementiaDr. John Dunlop’s new book Finding Grace in The Face of Dementia is certainly not an escapist approach to God’s presence in dementia, i.e., he doesn’t just quote a few Bible verses and expect this will satisfy all the issues that this horrific disease causes. But in his combination of medical understanding and Biblical truth, he offers help and perspective to people coping with the disease. He dedicates the book “to those who seek to love and care for people with dementia in ways that honor God”. ( John Dunlop, Finding Grace in The Face of Dementia, Crossway 2017).

Excellent book, compassionately written with great insight would highly recommend

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is starting on the dementia road or especially to someone who is a caregiver to someone who is. This book is so helpful and I will refer back to many pages over time as my husband is on this road. The prayers at the end of each chapter are awesome. Also the Dr.'s honesty throughout but also loving guidance and encouragement is so appreciated.

Excellent book! Easy to understand and grasp the concept of dementia and the variety of sequela. Highly recommended for anyone who knows someone that has dementia, as you will see them AND yourself in this book. Everyone should read it, regardless of your level of involvement with dementia.

Written with physician's knowledge and a son's compassion.Great read for caregivers and support workers. Buy, read, and share it.

It gives wonderful insight into dementia and the patient and the patient family. Very helpful resource.