Book review: And Still the Music Plays: Stories of People with Dementia, by Graham Stokes. London: Hawker Publications, 2008, pp. 244, £9.99. ISBN: 978-1-8747-9088-4
Abstract
Book review And Still the Music Plays: Stories of People with Dementia, by Graham Stokes. London: Hawker Publications, 2008, pp. 244, £9.99. ISBN: 978-1-8747-9088-4 SAGE Publications, Inc. 2011DOI: 10.1177/14713012110100020104 AngelaKydd School of Health, Nursing and Midwifery, University of the West of Scotland, Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland This book comprises 22 stories of people with dementia, and contains a bibliography and glossary. Dr Graham Stokes, well known in the eld of dementia care, has presented these stories in three sections. The rst section comprises six stories, detailing accounts of people in the early stages of dementia. The stories outline the horror of diagnosis and the e orts the individuals make to cope with their cognitive losses. The second section, comprising eight stories, tell of the unique methods people with dementia use to be true to themselves that sometimes lead their behaviour to be seen as challenging. The third and nal section, comprising eight stories which Stokes refers to as ‘both despairing and uplifting’ explores the vulnerability of people with dementia. The despair is seen in the inhuman manner in which some people are treated, and the uplifting part is when the care is good. Stokes states ‘when compassion and care