Living in the Labyrinth: A Personal Journey Through the Maze of Alzheimer's - Paperback

by Diana Friel McGowin (Author)

Living In The Labyrinth is the story of how one woman found the strength and the courage to cope with a devastating disease that has afflicted five million Americans. Far from being an exercise in self-pity or a standard autobiography, this is an unflinching and ultimately uplifting look at a debilitating illness from the inside out.

"Somewhere there is that ever-present reminder list of what I am supposed to do today. But I cannot find it. I attempt to do the laundry and find myself outside, in my backyard, holding soiled clothes. How did I get here? How do I get back?"

Only forty-five when she first began to struggle with the memory lapses and disorientation that signal the onset of Alzheimer's, Diana Friel McGowin has written a courageous, stirring insider's story of the disease that is now the fourth leading killer of American adults.

Diana's personal journey through days of darkness and light, fear and hope gives us new insight into a devastating illness and the plight of its victims, complete with a list of early warning signs, medical background, and resources for further information. But Diana's story goes far beyond a recounting of a terrifying disease. It portrays a marriage struggling to survive, a family hurt beyond words, and a woman whose humor and intelligence triumph over setbacks and loss to show us the best of what being human is.

"A stunner of a book . . . it takes the reader on a terrifying but enlightening journey."--San Antonio News Express

"Touching and sometimes angry . . . a poignant insider's view."--The Cincinnati Enquirer

Front Jacket

Living In The Labyrinth is the story of how one woman found the strength and the courage to cope with a devastating disease that has afflicted five million Americans. Far from being an exercise in self-pity or a standard autobiography, this is an unflinching and ultimately uplifting look at a debilitating illness from the inside out. 9780385313841|JF|A glance here, a flirtation there, a moment of misunderstanding. Have the new rules of feminist politics gone too far? Since Katie Riophe's book The Morning After helped spark a national debate over the politics of date rape, the media has focused on controversial sexual behavior of all kinds. Proponents of what has come to be called sexual correctness contend that we live in a culture where date rape, pornography, and sexual harassment are simply facts of life that demand a new sexual standard. Opponents argue that these claims are born out of a victim mentality they see as pervasive in the modern feminist movement that threatens to rob women of the gains of sexual freedom. As the successfull Dell title "Debating PC did in 1992, "Debating Sexual Correctness brings together some of the best known and most important voices in this debate. From the editorial pages of magazines as diverse as "The New Republic and "Glamour, "The New York Times and "Playboy, the country's most thoughtful social critics define or debunk this very controversial notion of sexual correctness. Katie Roiphe, Camille Paglia, Naomi Wolf, Andrea Dworkin, Catherine MacKinnon, and Susan Faludi are only a few of the writers in this provocative anthology that looks at a highly charged debate that has encompassed a nation.

Author Biography

Diana McGowin was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease when she was 53. She is the author of Living in the Labyrinth: A Personal Journey Through the Maze of Alzheimer's.