Caltech English Professor and Vice Provost Cindy Weinstein and Dr. Bruce MIller of UC San Francisco’s Global Brain Health Institute
A book examining a Caltech professor’s family’s struggles with Alzheimer’s disease as seen through the lenses of both science and literature is set to be published in September.
“Finding the Right Words,” by Caltech English Professor and Vice Provost Cindy Weinstein, with Dr. Bruce MIller of UC San Francisco’s Global Brain Health Institute, follows Weinstein’s father’s struggle with the illness, Caltech said in a written statement.It’s due for release in September through Johns Hopkins University Press.
“When Cindy Weinstein was studying to become a professor of literature, her father was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. He was 58 years old. Her love of words was accompanied by his loss of words and much more. Twelve years later, at age 70, he died having lost all of his memories — along with his ability to read, write, and speak,” according to the statement.
“To write her story, she collaborated with Dr. Bruce L. Miller, neurologist and director of the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California, San Francisco, combining personal memoir, literature, and the science and history of brain health into a unique, educational and meditative work,’” the statement said. ”Their two perspectives give readers a fuller understanding of Alzheimer’s than any one voice could.”
The authors recently gave a talk on their upcoming work before the nonprofit student organization Caltech Y, the group said in a statement.
The presentation left a deep impression, Caltech Y Board Member Sandhya Ravichandran said.
“The talk was a brilliantly artful interweaving of science explaining the mysteries of the brain affected by Alzheimer’s combined with a poignant recounting of a daughter watching her father slowly losing himself,” she said.
More than 140 guests attended the event, according to Caltech Y.
“It was an honor to share my work with Bruce to the Caltech Y audience,” Weinstein said. “In telling the story of my father’s Alzheimer’s disease, we hope to help families understand the diagnosis and the emotions that often come with it. We also hope to chip away at the cruel stigma that accompanies afflicting 6.2 million people in the US and 44 million in the world.”
Another webinar with the authors is planned at 5 p.m. on Sept. 9 on the “Behind the book” virtual series hosted by Caltech English Professor Catherine Jurca.
The forum will be free, but those interested in taking part were asked to register in advance at events.caltech.edu/series/behind_the_book/cindy-weinstein.
More information on “Finding the Right Words” can be found online at weinsteinandmiller.com.
