Bookshelfajag_488 190..191

Dementia studies: A social science perspectiveA. Innes. SAGE Publications (available via Footprint Books),London, 2009. 195 pp. ISBN 978-1-4129-2164-0 (soft cover).A$55.95.

Dementia is a term that few of us feel we completely under-stand, as it is fraught with both a complex clinical evolutionand a complicated construct of theory. Dr Anthea Innes is awell-recognised leader in dementia and has been an activeresearcher and clinician in this field for more than a decade.Dementia Studies: A Social Science Perspective provides acomprehensive insight into the passage of dementia from itsonset to issues for future practice. It is a good resource forthose wishing to understand dementia and its impact, as astudent or clinician.

The book works to develop a foundational understandingof the themes around dementia and makes some attempt tochallenge the reader to reconsider this paradigm. The bookis a ‘heavy’ read with a largely literature-based synthesis ofissues, and it relies on a very comprehensive list of refer-ences. It begins with an historical overview of dementia,from both scientific and theoretical viewpoints, includingKitwood’s person centred care model and Sabat’s theoryon self. The chapter on the context of dementiapresents a relentless numbers and facts; however, it is veryclear in presenting the immediate and longer-term inter-national concerns regarding an approaching ‘dementiaepidemic’ (p. 33).

Dr Innes provides some generalist guidance on researchingdementia, engaging participants and studying dementia.Using David Kolb’s learning cycle, she presents a model forstudying dementia, including thinking and then reflecting ondementia, considering other ways of looking at it, and finallytesting and challenging these views (p. 138). DementiaStudies: A Social Science Perspective provides an overview ofissues and makes strategic attempts to challenge models ofboth care and policy.

The book lacks an engaging style of writing, with very fewpictorial drawcards or formal reflective spaces. Its design isvery ‘intense’ and it is not a light read. Other limitations ofthis text include a lack of specific relevance to the Australianhealth-care system, including the residential and communityaged care milieu, which is particularly pertinent as a largeproportion of the book critiques the treating of dementia insocial, cultural, political and economic domains. Further-more, the text does somewhat replicate other dementiaresources; however, it is the first of its kind, to the reviewer’sknowledge, to make such a formidable attempt to draw

together themes and concepts in one resource. The reader isleft feeling significantly better informed. The book will forma valuable resource for clinicians, students and researchersalike.

Nicole BrookeThe Whiddon Group, Sydney, New South Wales, Australiaajag_489 190..191

By himself: The older man's experience of widowhoodDeborah K. van den Hoonaard. University Of Toronto Press,London, 2010. 198 pp. ISBN 978-1442641099 (hard copy). AUS$46.

This qualitative study utilised open-ended interviews with 26widowers over the age of 60 years residing in Canada and theUnited States. It is essentially an excursion into unchartedterritory in relation to older widowers speaking about theirexperiences. Drawing upon the concept of an active interviewthe research approach incorporated an analysis of not onlywhat was said by each interviewee but how it was said. Theauthor explores what happens to older men when they tran-sition to the social status of widowhood.

By Himself uses the theoretical foundation of symbolic inter-actionism as the primary means for soliciting stories from theolder men. As such, the central focus of the study was todetermine how each of the participants defined or describedthe social processes surrounding their changed relationshipswith immediate family and friends, and with women in par-ticular. Some daughters assumed an in loco parentis role inorder to support the ongoing needs of their father. There wasa general feeling among the widowers, however, that theirchildren needed to get on with their own private and profes-sional lives. In terms of remarriage and general relationshipswith women, there were those who married again to avoidbeing lonely versus those who were more cautious and con-cerned that marriage would jeopardise their independence.Some men were not interested in remarriage but opted tohave a lady friend.

The study challenges traditional stereotypes that depict olderwidowers being house-bound and experiencing difficulty incoping and caring for themselves. On the contrary, the major-ity of participants indicated that ‘being busy’ was an effectivemeans for dealing with loneliness and melancholy. The olderwidowers were quite emphatic that a significant aspect ofbeing busy involved engagement in activities that got themout of the house, as this provided opportunities for socialinteraction.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1741-6612.2010.00488.x

190 Australasian Journal on Ageing, Vol 29 No 4 December 2010, 190–191© 2010 The Author

Australasian Journal on Ageing © 2010 ACOTA