Gerda Saunders emigrated to the United States from South Africa in 1984. In 1996 she received a PhD in English from the University of Utah, where she later served as associate director of the Gender Studies Program. Saunders is the author of the short story collection Blessings on the Sheep Dog. She has spoken with the BBC and The Huffington Post about living with dementia, and is the subject of a series of short films being produced by VideoWest and featured on Slate.
"Memory's Last Breath: Field Notes on Dementia is a testament to
perseverance, a weaving together of past and present experiences
and an exploration of a changing identity. Memory's Last Breath
shows that there can be life, joy and accomplishments after a
dementia diagnosis."--Alzheimers.net
"[A] deeply emotional and humbling memoir...a work of breathtaking
defiance."--Booklist (starred review)
"[A] fascinating look at the diminishing lifestyle of a person with
Dementia.... Gerda Saunders has given us a window into her
inspiring and courageous journey of life."--Portland Book
Review
"[Saunders] writes with clear-eyed honesty and, yes, humor about
living with early-onset microvascular disease... Brilliantly
illuminates the gulf between memories richly preserved and memory
lost."--Melissa Block, NPR
"An intimate, revealing account of living with dementia....
Saunders approaches some of the most difficult questions a human
being can face with clarity and wisdom."--Shelf Awareness
"Extraordinary ... an unflinching self-portrayal by a woman losing
the key markers of her identity."--Winnipeg Free Press
"Gerda Saunders' Memory's Last Breath is not only a how-to manual
for navigating the emotional and physiological terrain of
dementia--an illness that effects the daily lives and hopes of
millions--but a highly compelling account of the life of the mind,
its developments, repetitions, omissions, and flourishes. Through
eloquent, unwavering prose, Saunders guides us through the horrors
and humors of an illness that is slowly erasing her mental and
physical memory; her insights are lessons in longevity. Above all
things, Memory's Last Breath is indelible--a testament to the
capacity of language both in a writer's life and a reader's."
--Ann Neumann, author of The Good Death
"Melodious.... The last chapter is stunning in both senses of the
word, gorgeous and shocking... A graceful, innovative writer....
Saunders's awareness of her own mortality has turned her into an
omniscient eye."--Jennifer Senior, New York Times
"Navigating the onset of her own dementia with intelligence and
charm, Gerda Saunders has written an engaging mélange of
reflection, family history and quest. Memory's Last Breath is a
surprising and subtly triumphant contribution to the literature of
recollection."--Honor Moore, author of The Bishop's Daughter
"Saunders...writes bravely about her early-onset dementia
diagnosis, and nicely bridges the intensely personal experience of
her failing mind with examinations of neurological science.... Her
evocative writing shows her to be a researcher and
craftswoman."--Publishers Weekly
"The abrupt loss of everyday memory due to brain injury is swiftly
and seriously unsettling. Its slower, subtle decline, the hallmark
of dementia, provides time for introspection on its troubling
trajectory. Gerda Saunders has given us a window into that
chilling, yet poignant, psychological reality. Memory's Last Breath
is personal, lucid, and inspiring."--Dr. Michael Gazzaniga,
Director of the SAGE Center for the Study of Mind at the University
of California, Santa Barbara, and author of Tales from Both Sides
of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience
"The book (with its astonishing subtitle: 'Field Notes on My
Dementia') is a literary achievement ... blend[ing] meditations on
memory and identity with brain science, rooted by the writer's
anthropologic jottings of daily misadventures."--Salt Lake
Tribune
"The book is remarkable not only for its fiercely honest,
sometimes-poetic portrayal of mental decline, but also for the way
the author effectively celebrates 'the magisteria of a mind'.... A
courageous, richly textured, and unsparing memoir."--Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)
"This courageous and singular book describes both the indignities
inscribed in the erosion of memory and the surprising grace to be
found in that experience. At once observer and subject, Gerda
Saunders demonstrates how a powerful intellect can remain
undiminished even as other mental capacities are compromised. Her
book's lessons in dignity will be invaluable to anyone facing the
complex meanings of dementia."--Andrew Solomon, National Book
Award-winning author of The Noonday Demon and Far from the Tree
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