Making Sense of Senselessness: Contemporary Literary Commentaries on Dementia

Abstract

Alzheimer's Disease is increasingly seen as the major health problem in developed countries supplanting cancer and heart disease. The terror with which we respond to dementia, is grounded in a view of dementia as a monstrous descent, ambushing our healthy ageing through an incursion of pathology. The pervasiveness of this view can mean that other perspectives and even the views of those most touched by the challenges of dementia remain unheard. Part of the cultural conversation around dementia is informed by contemporary literature. Novels such as Still Alice, The Corrections, The Madonnas of Leningrad and Tinkers include vivid images of the dementia journey. They provide a variety of responses to the disruptions of this illness, as well as the possibility of finding meaning within the undeniable losses of