The chances of having Alzheimer's are 10% from age 65, and 50% from age 85. At my advanced age, I have a natural curiosity about the disease that is clearly based on self-interest. While I've a fairly good technical knowledge of Alzheimer's, I had no real understanding of its heartbreaking effects until I read 'Love is Ageless', an anthology edited by Jessica Bryan. The stories and poems she has selected represent a variety of personal experiences, written by patients, family, friends, and caregivers. The result is a collection of heartwarming texts and verses that explain, edify, and entertain.

Ms Bryan set out to create a 'support group in a book', and she has succeeded magnificently. The experiences of others will help the reader through difficult times - when the first definitive symptoms appear, when (and how) to consider nursing home placement, when to indulge in the patient's illusions and when to give a reality check. The nursing home atmospheres described range from 'home-from-home' to 'a black hole'; the lessons to be drawn here are obvious. Discussion of death and religion are included in some stories, and the use of 'loving deception' in others, while the indignities of the late stages of the disease are not shirked. However, while the stories cover so many facets of Alzheimer's, through them all shine compassion, caring, and love.

Perhaps the main use of this book is the one Ms Bryan intended. A full reading should prepare the relative of an early-stage patient for what is to come; so many aspects of behavior and affect are described that there should be few surprises. What is important, however, is the clear, overarching message that, with enough love, almost anything can be handled. The final story consists of a series of vignettes, written by Ms Bryan herself, describing her life with Irma, her mother, proceeding from the first stages of Alzheimer's to the final one. They illustrate how the inevitable periods of fear, rage, and denial can transcend into a deeper love than existed before. This book is clearly fundamental reading for anyone facing Alzheimer's - either as a patient or a caregiver.