Review ~ Coffee with Mom: Caring for a Parent with Dementia by Mike Glenn

Paperback, 208 pages

Published June 1st 2019 by B Books

Sometimes, life takes you places you don’t want to go. 

Dementia and Alzheimer’s is a journey no one wants to take, yet  life doesn’t give us a choice. Author Mike Glenn's mom didn’t want to be sick, and while she couldn’t overcome the devastation of disease, she wasn’t going down without a fight.

She fought the illness, denying its presence. She fought the doctors, “Who were these idiots anyway?” And she fought him, “How come you think you’re in charge now?”

Coffee with Mom is a book about a mom's fight with dementia and the struggle of a son who wanted to help but didn’t always know how. Most of their conversations—and sometimes battles—happened during morning coffee.

This book isn’t about knowing all of the answers. It is one son’s journey with his mom—a mom with Alzheimer’s and a son who did the best he could, and who wrote this story in hopes that you’ll find a few laughs for your journey, realize you’re not alone, and find the courage to do the best you can.

So, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and join us on the journey. You’ll find yourself in the laughter and tears of not knowing what to do next and making a decision that you hope works out, knowing it’s the best you can do in the moment.

In the end, that’s all that matters. “Do the best you can” is all love requires.

Mike Glenn is the Senior Pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tennessee. Under his leadership since 1991, the church has grown to a church with eight campuses and a membership of over 11,000. He graduated from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Glenn has written two books, In Real Time and The Gospel of Yes, and writes frequently on his blog, MikeGlennOnline.com, and for Patheos.com. He is married to Jeannie, his wife and best friend of 37 years. They have twin sons, Chris (Deb) and Craig (Nan), and three granddaughters, Mackenzie, Rowen, and Brooklyn.

My Review
4 STARS!!!

I found Coffee with Mom to be an extremely candid look at a son’s experience of caring for his mother through the last years of dementia. Glenn explains how we perceive it is going to be but in actuality how it really is. Of course, everyone’s experience won’t be exactly the same but there are enough similarities that I feel this book might need to be a ‘must-read’ for anyone in the roll of long term caregiver.

I read this book in small doses because my heart twisted at some of the recollections. My husband and I experienced similar emotional pain through the years with our daughter who was physically and mentally challenged. I appreciate Glenn’s honesty and transparency and it encouraged me not to go back and second guess any decisions my husband and I made. Even in the midst of life’s greatest trials, there is humor to be found (we know that for a fact) and Glenn displays a keen wit. Really, his mom was a hoot. I’m so glad he wrote this book!

As I read along, I couldn’t help but share passages with my husband (okay, I basically read the book to him) because 1) our own experience and the ensuing years of grief and healing and 2) he has a co-worker (CW) who is a co-caregiver to both parents who have Alzheimer’s. He said CW has confided a few of these same emotional and physical challenges of caring for his parents. My husband told me he thinks he is now better prepared to pray for and encourage CW through this challenging time.

I appreciate Lifeway and B&H sending me a copy for review purposes. No compensation has been received.