Beyond the Great Forgetting

Drawing on a selection of carefully curated autobiographical and fictional portrayals of the dementia experience, this book gives voice to some of the most pressing ethical issues that commonly arise in the context of a dementing disorder, and calls attention to various forms of narrative resistance in contemporary American literature on early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Based on the premise that the current public discourse on AD is largely dominated by an anxiety and fear-promoting conception of the illness, this multilayered inquiry strives to look beyond the widespread horrors of forgetting and loss in AD, and, in doing so, attempts to give a better, more accurate, and more balanced impression of what it means to be living with such a diagnosis.
About the authorPatrick Gruener received both his diploma degree in English and American Studies and his doctorate in Literature and Cultural Studies from the University of Innsbruck. Born and raised in Austria, he currently resides in New York City.