A Tattoo on my Brain
A Neurologist's Personal Battle against Alzheimer's Disease

An engaging account of a neurologist's experience with an Alzheimer's diagnosis, a disease he spent decades treating in others.

Daniel Gibbs (Author), Teresa H. Barker (Author)

9781009325189, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 16 March 2023

226 pages
19.8 x 13 x 1.4 cm, 0.26 kg

Dr Daniel Gibbs is one of 50 million people worldwide with an Alzheimer's disease diagnosis. Unlike most patients with Alzheimer's, however, Dr Gibbs worked as a neurologist for twenty-five years, caring for patients with the very disease now affecting him. Also unusual is that Dr Gibbs had begun to suspect he had Alzheimer's several years before any official diagnosis could be made. Forewarned by genetic testing showing he carried alleles that increased the risk of developing the disease, he noticed symptoms of mild cognitive impairment long before any tests would have alerted him. In this highly personal account, Dr Gibbs documents the effect his diagnosis has had on his life and explains his advocacy for improving early recognition of Alzheimer's. Weaving clinical knowledge from decades caring for dementia patients with his personal experience of the disease, this is an optimistic tale of one man's journey with early-stage Alzheimer's disease. Soon to be a documentary film on MTV/Paramount +.

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Prologue
1. Beacon Rock
2. Forewarned and Forearmed
3. The Smell of Baking Bread
4. Sneak Preview
5. A Stubborn Puzzle
6. The Locked Box and the Family Tree
7. The Measure of Memory
8. Orcas, Nonetheless
9. My Brain, My Self
10. The Reveal
11. Cognitive Reserve: Brain Cells in the Bank
12. My Experimental Life
13. When ARIA is More Than an Operatic Solo
14. My Experiential Life: Living with Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease
15. Madeleines, Music and African Doves
16. It's Only Scary if You Look Down
17. Beyond DNA: Family History Reconsidered
18. NEWS AT 5: Retired Neurologist Battles Alzheimer's
19. The Forest, the Trees and the Ground Beneath My Feet
20. What's in a Name? Alzheimer's Reimagined
21. A Meaningful Outcome
Epilogue: The Writing Life
Epilogue: The Writing Life Act II
Appendix: The MIND Diet Basics
Resources
Index.

Subject Areas: Clinical psychology [MMJ], Psychiatry [MMH], Geriatric medicine [MJX], Neurology & clinical neurophysiology [MJN], Medical genetics [MFN], Maturation & ageing [MFKH3], Biography & True Stories [B]