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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Dosa's book title and cover suggest the book will focus on the cat who intuits when nursing home residents are experiencing their final hours. However, the book really focuses more on describing the stages of dementia, part particularly late-stage dementia. The cat does help give the book a memorable spin, and Oscar gives the book some narrative cohesion. But I find the main purpose is to inform family members about the way dementia patients are in a state of unlearning and how family members need to accept the course of the disease and not push for extreme medical intervention. But there are also stories from a half dozen family members about how Oscar offered comfort to them and to their dying parent or spouse.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Oscar the cat ignores most of the patients at the nursing home where he lives until they are dying. Without fail, he shows up within 24 hours before a patient dies and stands watch until they are gone. He brings comfort to the patients and their families as they pass to the next life.
This is a true story, written by a doctor at the nursing home. Dr. Dosa was initially skeptical about Oscar's ability, but once he became convinced, he decided to interview the families that Oscar had comforted as they lost a loved one. This book is primarily about the stories behind the patients in the dementia/Alzheimer's units and how their family members dealt with losing a parent or spouse to dementia. I learned a lot about dementia.
Bonus points for:
*weaving his own story into the book -- Dr. Dosa has some chronic health problems and his mother-in-law was diagnosed with dementia while he was working on the book.
*Including some tips for caregivers of a patient that has been diagnosed with dementia at the end of the book.
Rated PG for mature themes (death and dying), but this is a very clean read.
This is a true story, written by a doctor at the nursing home. Dr. Dosa was initially skeptical about Oscar's ability, but once he became convinced, he decided to interview the families that Oscar had comforted as they lost a loved one. This book is primarily about the stories behind the patients in the dementia/Alzheimer's units and how their family members dealt with losing a parent or spouse to dementia. I learned a lot about dementia.
Bonus points for:
*weaving his own story into the book -- Dr. Dosa has some chronic health problems and his mother-in-law was diagnosed with dementia while he was working on the book.
*Including some tips for caregivers of a patient that has been diagnosed with dementia at the end of the book.
Rated PG for mature themes (death and dying), but this is a very clean read.
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I don't think I would have read this book if it hadn't been this month's choice for book club, but I did, and I am glad. I think it will be fun to discuss.
My initial thoughts are that it is an interesting exploration of how dementia affects families, but that it doesn't really say much at all about Oscar. Oscar's simple story was told on the back of the book. The more interesting story inside the book revolves around Dr. Dosa and his patients.
Why such a low rating? Two stars means it was okay, and it was. But I felt like I was being manipulated sometimes as I was reading, and several of the chapters followed the same predictable format. I don't know, I just thought it could have been better.
My initial thoughts are that it is an interesting exploration of how dementia affects families, but that it doesn't really say much at all about Oscar. Oscar's simple story was told on the back of the book. The more interesting story inside the book revolves around Dr. Dosa and his patients.
Why such a low rating? Two stars means it was okay, and it was. But I felt like I was being manipulated sometimes as I was reading, and several of the chapters followed the same predictable format. I don't know, I just thought it could have been better.
This is the story of Oscar, the cat who sits with dying patients in a dementia ward - versions of an article about him have been spread all over the net.
I really didn't expect to enjoy this, although I am a cat fanatic. I thought it would be full of airy-fairy woo about cats being psychic, or tapping into 'energies'. However, David Dosa is as sceptical as I am about Oscar having some kind of special sense. In fact, he spends the book trying to find out what might cause the cat's behaviour.
In the end, the cause is pretty irrelevant. The important thing is the support and companionship that the families, in particular, gain from Oscar's presence at such a sad time. What this book is really about is how families and patients cope with dementia. As my mother has just been diagnosed with vascular dementia, it was exactly what I needed to read.
I really didn't expect to enjoy this, although I am a cat fanatic. I thought it would be full of airy-fairy woo about cats being psychic, or tapping into 'energies'. However, David Dosa is as sceptical as I am about Oscar having some kind of special sense. In fact, he spends the book trying to find out what might cause the cat's behaviour.
In the end, the cause is pretty irrelevant. The important thing is the support and companionship that the families, in particular, gain from Oscar's presence at such a sad time. What this book is really about is how families and patients cope with dementia. As my mother has just been diagnosed with vascular dementia, it was exactly what I needed to read.
This is a sweet story about Oscar, the famous nursing home cat who only spends time with patients who are near the end of life. But more than that, it is a painfully honest look at the devastating effects of dementia and Alzheimer's.
Using the story of Oscar's special gift, the author (Dr. Dosa) provides a moving look at the realities of this often misunderstood disease. My love for cats prompted me to read this book, but it was my love for an Alzheimer's patient that made me glad I did. -Candy V.
Using the story of Oscar's special gift, the author (Dr. Dosa) provides a moving look at the realities of this often misunderstood disease. My love for cats prompted me to read this book, but it was my love for an Alzheimer's patient that made me glad I did. -Candy V.
As a nurse working in the hospital's dementia unit, i can certainly relate to all the things that were in here. We are trying to start pet therapy in the acute hospital where i work, but as of now i dont think that would be possible. I am gladdened to read this, and how pet therapy actually works. What's more, they use cats. I love cats. <3
Oscar es especial. Es un gato que siempre acompaña a los pacientes que fallecen en una residencia para gente con Alzheimer y ese tipo de enfermedades. Es imposible que no se te salte la lagrimita con este libro, sobre todo si recuerdas que no es ficción. Amante o no de los gatos, es un libro que creo que cualquiera podría disfrutar muy fácilmente. A mí me ha encantado