Dear Dad, Can We Talk About Your Memory?

This is a Dear Dad letter. I wrote to my dad after visiting him because he was having some memory problems. The problems were not very severe, but he noticed them, and we were concerned. It is a letter of love from a daughter to her father, quite informal in tone, and also containing detailed, technical information that is not typical for such a correspondence. My father and I were both professionals working in hospitals throughout careers. I have an area of expertise in education about dementia and Alzheimer’s, and so naturally I wanted him to know the latest in research. While I wrote this letter for my dad, I never did give it to him – he passed a couple of months later (not related to his memory problems). When I first began to share this letter and the worksheets “Am I having memory problems?” and “Am I taking care of my brain health?”, it seemed like way to honor my Dad . It’s now been three years and I’ve updated the information while retaining my original daughter’s voice speaking to my father. I wanted to give that background and a warning to the reader because the letter is pretty technical, so I thought it might be helpful to know something about my father and myself. My dad was a retired pharmacist and hospital senior administrator. I am a clinical psychologist specializing in gerontology, working at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) at the University of Southern California. As a result, the letter is written for someone who has a high level of understanding of medical issues, broadly speaking. I wanted to pass the information onto him, and now onto you. If there is something you don’t understand, just skip over it for now, and you can always ask your doctor or health care provider about it later. Please pass this book onto a parent, as you see appropriate. It can also go to a cousin, uncle, aunt, friend, or spouse. You are welcome to use the information in this letter but please keep in mind that it is very important to go to a doctor if you are having memory problems. Please take this letter and your filled-out journal and bring it your physician or primary care provider. Do not take the contents of this letter as medical advice, but do read it carefully and take care of yourself. Significant memory problems are not a normal part of aging and there are many ways to reverse memory symptoms, protect yourself from dementia, and delay serious memory problems if you do have a disease. I can be reached by email at **** Take care and be well, Tara   Questions you have about your recent memory problems Dear Dad, You said you were having memory problems and had some questions. I thought it might be easiest to give you some advice if I wrote it out in a letter. You know I am in the Alzheimer’s disease and memory problems research field, and that I have a lot of advice.