Elizabeth is Missing - your thoughts

[HarrietD]

Hi everyone,

Have you read the book Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey? If so, we'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

Let us know below, and your comments could potentially be included in a future issue of Living with Dementia as part of the magazine's Book Group feature.

Thanks all

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This thread will close on Tuesday 6 September.

 

[marionq]

The author really got inside the head of someone with dementia. The compulsions, the confusion, the effect on other people. The thread of truth about Elizabeth ran through it even though no one could fathom what was going on. I liked the mystery which ran alongside the story of Elizabeth as it gave the book another dimension apart from just dementia.

 

[Kjn]

The author really got inside the head of someone with dementia. The compulsions, the confusion, the effect on other people. The thread of truth about Elizabeth ran through it even though no one could fathom what was going on. I liked the mystery which ran alongside the story of Elizabeth as it gave the book another dimension apart from just dementia.

Thanks for that marion, I've held back from reading it ..not sure why , but now you have enticed me into it.

Sorry ..no I havnt read it , but now I will

 

[Beate]

I read it two years ago and now I've won a copy so I can read it again. I think it very accurately portrays dementia from a patient's point of view and it is very poignant to see how Maud is treated by the people around her - some well-meaning, some mean and some plain not understanding. It's also a kind of detective story that fits in brilliantly with the rest - Maud isn't quite sure what's going on anymore but she knows one thing for certain: someone is missing, and she has to delve into her past to try and make sense of it. It's a fascinating read, quite sad too.
I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[Kjn]

Thanks Beate , That's really pushed me to read it..along with war n peace I've downloaded.
I went to download and already had !
Mum reads kindles too so will see if she fancies reading it . Maybe not yet.

Wonder if OH will give me couple weeks off work to catch up on my reading.

 

[creativesarah]

I found it very evocative, the strong images within the story reflect so well what it's like to live with or alongside dementia.
I found it on a par with Still Alice I have just got the DVD of the film and I am using it as an educational informative tool to show friends

 

[Kjn]

Is still Alice a book ?

 

[Beate]

Yes, by the brilliant writer Lisa Genova.

 

[Kjn]

Beate you should be a librarian

I'd love that job

 

[Beate]

LOL - I keep librarians in a job, that's for sure! You wouldn't believe how many books I read!

 

[Kjn]

I love books, the smell of old ones, I can still smell the library I went to as a child

 

[LadyA]

I loved Elizabeth is Missing - partly because I love mysteries, and partly because the author brilliantly portrayed what was, to those around her, Maud's "challenging behaviour" - but she gave us that beautiful insight into things from inside Maud, her confusion, but her behaving & acting in a way that at that particular moment, seemed the only logical way to act, to her. It reminded me of what Graham Stokes, the clinical psychologist, said in his book "And the Music Still Plays: Stories of people with Dementia" - that there is always a reason for a behaviour, even if sometimes we never discover the reason.

I also loved the immense efforts that Maud was making to help herself and her friend. Even writing herself notes, to remind herself that Elizabeth was missing, so she wouldn't forget to look for her. How poignant!

 

[HarrietD]

Thanks so much everyone for your comments - it's great to hear what you all thought

This thread will close at the end of the day, so there's still time to add a comment if you'd like to.