Dr. Cameron J. Camp, internationally-recognized scholar, author and trainer has written a new book, called Hiding the Stranger in the Mirror: A Detective’s Manual for Solving Problems Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders. 

As the Baby Boom generation ages, growing numbers of people are impacted by dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related disorders. By the year 2020, 53 million people in the US are expected to be over the age of 65. Accompanying the rise in the older population, the number of people in the US diagnosed with AD is expected to exceed 15 million by 2050, out of a total of 80 million worldwide. Writing with wit and compassion, Dr. Camp aims to help his audience better understand how the disease affects memory, and how memory loss may affect behavior. 

Going against conventional “wisdom,” the author stresses that the key to successfully caring for persons with dementia is to focus on their strengths rather than their weaknesses–to see the person and not a disease. His entertaining and insightful book examines cases based on real individuals to illustrate common challenging behaviors and how to approach these challenges. Listeners are given tools and resources to understand why persons with dementia do what they do, to help them solve their own “cases,” and, more importantly, they are given a more hopeful way of thinking about Alzheimer’s disease and those who live with it. 

“We are not helpless in the face of Alzheimer’s disease and associated illnesses. We can best care for ourselves and our loved ones with dementia by embracing the humanity that exists, and has always existed, within each other.” (Cameron J. Camp, PhD, from the Author’s Preface to Hiding the Stranger in the Mirror)