A glass-half-full look at Alzheimer’s that reveals how to connect with someone through the fog of the disease.

As many as five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. The popular perception of the disease is that people who receive an Alzheimer’s diagnosis are lost to themselves and to those who love them—and that they have no future. But as John Zeisel, an innovator in nonpharmacological approaches to treating Alzheimer’s, makes clear in this book, this view is wrong. The disease often lasts ten to fifteen years—a time span that definitely constitutes a future. In I’m Still Here , Zeisel shows that during the course of Alzheimer’s, caregivers can have a vibrant and meaningful relationship with people who have the disease.

I’m Still Here focuses on connecting with individuals with Alzheimer’s through their abilities that don’t diminish with time, such as understanding music, art, facial expressions, and touch. Zeisel demonstrates that people who have the disease are highly creative and emotionally intelligent. By harnessing these capacities, and by using other approaches to treatment—such as building memory cues into their living environment, which encourages independent movement and helps eliminate sources of frustration—it’s possible to offer them a quality life with connection to others and to the world.