Where Two Worlds Touch: A Spiritual Journey Through Alzheimer's Disease Paperback – January 14, 2014

On page 227 of WHERE TWO WORLDS TOUCH, in the chapter called “The Last Word,” Jade Angelica offers the image of a grown woman sitting on the lap of her Alzheimer’s-ridden parent: "Mom’s presence still gave me the experience of being mothered. Sometimes I actually sat on her lap. ... Mom had her arms tightly around me, and I imitated the voice of her baby doll, softly saying, 'Mama, Mama.'”Even though the Rev. Dr. Jade Angelica was careful to hold the bulk of her own weight off her mother, and even though her mother was still “robust,” I found this picture simultaneously compelling and disturbing. When I was caring for my own dementia-ridden mother in the late 1990s, I would never have even considered sitting on her lap, letting her hug me like a little girl. With my mom, I actually did many of the same kinds of things that Jade Angelica writes about in this new and helpful book, but I was far too reserved to even picture myself playing little girl with my mom.WHERE TWO WORLDS TOUCH changed my vision, lessened my unhelpful resistance, and opened me up to new possibilities for spiritual growth. Through her exquisite prose and fearless candor, Anglica not only shares her journey through the pain and struggles that inevitably accompany those struck with Alzheimer’s, but she does so in a way that illuminates the often-overlooked gifts of joy, relationship, and love that can also accompany this disease. The entire book is wonderful, but for me, her most meaningful contribution to the immense literature which has already flowed out of hundreds of pens/cartridges in an effort to combat this disease is the concept of improvisation. That’s the same stuff actors learn to use and Angelica learned to use in a course she chanced to take long before her mother was even diagnosed with dementia.In WHERE TWO WORLDS TOUCH spiritual director Jade Angelica shows how improv helps make the Alzheimer’s victim (aka the “scene partner”) look good. That’s actually a great idea, even if your “scene partner” isn’t afflicted with dementia. But in Alzheimer’s, Angelica shows how improv also gifts the caregiver -- with fun, “heart” speech, forgiveness, spiritual growth, and reciprocated love.A five star book, filled with ideas and resources. There’s a little repetition, but, after all, the subject is Alzheimer’s, so who cares! This one is a keeper. Beautiful. Touching. Life-giving.Reviewer: Sarah VossPiZine.org

Friends called my attention to Where Two Worlds Touch, A Spiritual Journey through Alzheimer’s Disease by Jade Angelica. I’ve read it numerous times, repeatedly finding it helpful. Ms. Angelica, who had had a strained relationship with her Mother, moved from New England to Iowa to support her Mother with Alzheimer’s in the nursing home. She used her experiences from a few Improv classes to connect positively with her Mom, even in her delusional world. Angelica offers perspective on the human journey from her ministerial studies to become a Unitarian pastor. She has much advice about the importance of respecting and affirming the Alzheimer’s patient, about living in the present, about connecting with the emotion behind delusional words, about the forgetful patient holding onto and valuing the warm emotional memory of a good visit, about communicating beyond words – heart speech. And most importantly, of finding hope in it all and of continuing the relationship, even reconciling from past hurts. The book is steeped in her personal experiences as well as solid professional sources about the disease and navigating through it in a positive, hope-filled way.Where Two Worlds Touch provides a hope-filled way to navigate a really tough journey.

This book is wonderful. It should be must reading for all who are facing issues of dementia in a loved one -- and it is likely that eventually we all will be facing those issues. The book is not a downer. Rather it is hopeful, and points to the giftedness of life and its resiliency. More than that, it shows the power of love to heal. And it confirms gently and compellingly that love never dies. The author write from the heart of her own experience. She draws from rich spiritual traditions, and does so poetically.My mother has vascular dementia, and I bought the book with her in mind. I have found my own attitudes expanded, and I have found personal healing in its pages.

This is a wonderful book for those who have family and friends with dementia. Angelica gives a different and more gentle approach for interacting with those we love. Easy read, with the sharing of experiences. My only criticism is that there is the assumption of the availability of time, in that so many of us work and have families and children and many, many responsibilities, and don't have the amount of time that Angelica seemed to have to dedicate to her mother's care. I only wish it were true for all of us.

I am an information junkie so I've read a lot about Alzheimer's and even have my own blog about caring for my husband but this by far the best book I have come across about caring for someone with Alzheimer's. Angelica explores what works and what doesn't and emphasizes the quality of life that remains for the patient and does it all with love and an open heart. This book covers communication, not just with the patient but with other family members and concerned staff. I'm only 2/3 of the way through the book but it just gets better and better. It will be #1 on my list of recommendations to all those touched by this dreadful disease. It should be required reading for staff in memory care units.

Being one of many people who have a family member suffering with Dementia, Alzheimer's, etc. this book enabled me to understand better, the way a patient 's mind works. It was a very comprehensive story of the author's mother and how she coped with the changes her mother was going through and in many instances did not understand why. It was eye opening for me and is helping me cope with my family member going through the same events only I now know what I should do and more importantly what I should not do. Once I started reading, I could not put the book down and finished the book in two days.You won't be disappointed.