Travellers to Unimaginable Lands: Dementia, Carers and the Hidden Workings of the Mind

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A Guardian 'Best ideas book of 2023'

A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK

'The best book I have ever read that explores the effect on the brain of the carer, when someone has dementia' Professor June Andrews, author of Dementia: The One-Stop Guide

Dasha Kiper was twenty-five when she first became the live-in carer for a Holocaust survivor with Alzheimer's disease. She soon discovered the emotional strain and challenges of caring for a person whose condition disrupts the rules of time, order and continuity. In Travellers to Unimaginable Lands, Kiper explores the complex and profound psychology of caregiving, illuminating how the healthy brain's biases and intuitions make caring for people with dementia disorders so profoundly and inherently difficult.

Blending neuroscience, psychology, philosophy and literature with beautifully-observed case studies, Kiper illuminates the underlying mental mechanisms behind carers' experiences, dispels the myth of the perfect caregiver and, in the process, opens the door to understanding and forgiveness.

Reviews

'A work of exceptional compassion ... deeply imaginative ... immeasurably valuable.' - Guardian

'Startling and moving ... a book so humane and quietly profound that everyone should read it' - Bee Wilson

'Kiper can write with an Oliver Sacks-like clarity ... a wise book, and one that is unsettling in the best way' - James McConnachie

'A deeply compassionate but often gently humorous investigation into the psychology of caregiving ... as Kiper points out in her lucid explanations of what is known about memory and consciousness, and the brain biology of self-control, no one can be perfect in such a situation: the carers, too, are victims of the disease' - Steven Poole, 'Best ideas books of 2023'

'What if caregivers are just as much victims of Alzheimer's as their charges ... a fascinating account of the psychology of caregiving ... the message of this compassionate book is that confusion is, deep down, part of the human condition' - Daily Telegraph

Author Bio

Dasha Kiper is the former clinical consulting director of support groups at an Alzheimer's organisation, and holds an MA in clinical psychology from Columbia University. She was born in Russia, raised in San Francisco, and makes her home in New York. For the past decade she has counselled caregivers, led support groups, and trained and supervised mental health professionals.