{"product_id":"the-vanishing-family-love-fate-and-the-quest-to-end-dementia","title":"The Vanishing Family: Love, Fate, and the Quest to End Dementia","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tROBERT KOLKER is a contributing writer at The \n\u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003eMagazine and author of the #1 \n\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \n\u003ci\u003eHidden Valley Road\u003c\/i\u003e, named an Oprah's Book Club Pick, a \n\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e Top 10 book of the year, a \n\u003ci\u003eGQ\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of Literary Journalism of the 21st Century, and a \n\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e Best Nonfiction Book of the Century. His first book was \n\u003ci\u003eLost Girls\u003c\/i\u003e, named a \n\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book and a \n\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of 2013.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"This is a triumph of reporting and an absolutely compelling exploration of neuroscience and genetics. At its heart, though, it's a poignant, heartfelt story about family and how love sustains even in the most difficult circumstances. Like Kolker's other work, it is full of deep humanity. It's a beautiful book.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Susan Orlean, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e-bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Orchid Thief \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eJoyride\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Robert Kolker has somehow done it again. \n\u003ci\u003eThe Vanishing Family\u003c\/i\u003e is an extraordinary investigation of the forms of silence and denial that come to structure a family redefined by dementia. It is also a riveting family saga about sisters and brothers trying to understand who they are as they gradually lose their memories and attachments.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Rachel Aviv, Pulitzer Prize finalist and \u003ci\u003eNew York Times-\u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eStrangers to Ourselves \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Kolker hits it out of the ballpark again. He writes about brain disorders the way great war correspondents write about battle: through the intimate lives caught in the crossfire. This book is gripping, devastating, illuminating, and impossible to put down.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Stanford University and \u003ci\u003eNew York Times-\u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eLivewired\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eIncognito\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"An extraordinary and deeply human story about the long and twisting road to a scientific cure for dementia. Drawing on one family's harrowing genetic legacy, Bob Kolker illuminates not only the promise of gene-targeted therapies but also the brutal calculus of learning your biological fate. \n\u003ci\u003eThe Vanishing Family\u003c\/i\u003e reads like a gripping medical mystery and an intimate family diary, forcing all of us to confront what it means to lose, and perhaps preserve, the self. This book is unforgettable.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Sanjay Gupta MD, associate professor of neurosurgery at Emory University, CNN chief medical correspondent, and author of the #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \u003ci\u003eKeep Sharp\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"It is a marvelous paradox that Robert Kolker possesses in abundance exactly the qualities that frontotemporal dementia erases: warmth, engagement, generosity, empathy. Because he cares so deeply about every member of this ill-starred family, we care too. This is a memorably humane book whose power grows as, page by page, we cheer for each winner of the genetic coin toss and grieve for each loser.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Anne Fadiman, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eThe Vanishing Family\u003c\/i\u003e is a deeply intimate portrait of a family confronting a shared genetic fate, and the love, courage, and choices that follow. Robert Kolker brings clarity and compassion to frontotemporal dementia, offering both insight and urgency through his storytelling. His deep commitment to the FTD community makes this an important contribution, and this family's willingness to share their story is both powerful and generous.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Emma Heming Willis, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e-bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Unexpected Journey\u003c\/i\u003e and advocate for FTD and caregivers\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Robert Kolker has written a deeply moving portrait of a family trying to outrun a mind-ravaging disorder, the researchers who can identify the genetic mutation that causes it -- but can do nothing to prevent or slow its progress -- and the courage of those who persist despite research roadblocks and the terror and sorrow of knowing they have inherited what cannot be averted. What gives \n\u003ci\u003eThe Vanishing Family\u003c\/i\u003e its haunting power is the deep humanity the author brings to a story that, like the specter of dementia itself, has urgent implications for us all.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Jonathan Rosen, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Best Minds, \u003c\/i\u003efinalist for the Pulitzer Prize \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Those who have already read Robert Kolker's work know what to expect from \n\u003ci\u003eThe Vanishing Family\u003c\/i\u003e -- a timely, urgent story in which one family's personal history provides a window on larger medical\/ethical issues. Those who have not are in for a treat. Deeply empathetic, this book reads like a thriller, but Kolker doesn't pretend there are any real answers for families affected by this particular form of dementia. Moving, haunting, and profound.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Laura Lippman, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times-\u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eLady in the Lake \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eWhat the Dead Know \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A moving account of one Pennsylvania family's struggle with a rare inherited form of frontotemporal dementia. . . . Kolker skillfully translates complex neuroscience into accessible prose and balances scientific discovery with intimate family drama. . . . It's a powerful examination of inheritance, resilience, and the human cost of medical uncertainty.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A compelling view of dementia and its devastating effect on victims and family alike.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFrom the #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eHidden Valley Road \u003c\/i\u003ecomes the heart-wrenching journey of a family facing an unthinkable destiny, whose flawed genetic code might hold the long-sought key to a cure for dementia.\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the idyllic American town of Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania, there lived a family with nine siblings, the youngest a girl named Barb. As the older children headed off to college and started their lives, only Barb was home to see their beautiful, still-young mother fall under a gothic spell, changing into someone she didn't recognize: withdrawn, neglectful, uncaring. Thus begins \n\u003ci\u003eThe Vanishing Family, \u003c\/i\u003e journalist Robert Kolker's superb follow-up to \n\u003ci\u003eHidden Valley Road\u003c\/i\u003e (\"Deeply compassionate and chilling,\" wrote \n\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e). This family, we learn, has a genetic mutation that causes dementia, but with an especially cruel twist. As early as their forties, formerly loving parents and hard-driving executives will lose their jobs, have affairs, take up drinking--shed all inhibitions and sense of responsibility--and become people their families hardly know. Their former personalities seem to vanish--and there is a fifty-fifty chance that it will happen to their children, too. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eThe Vanishing Family\u003c\/i\u003e unfolds like a heartbreaking thriller as the siblings begin to realize that what happened to their mother is happening to them: first one, then two, three, four, and more begin to change. Sue, in search of a calling, finds her place in caring for the others. Barb sets out to find a cure. Alongside their story, Kolker weaves in the dramatic scientific fight against dementia; after decades of blind alleys, this this family's rare form of FTD (frontotemporal dementia) might lead to a breakthrough in the prevention and treatment of \n\u003ci\u003eall \u003c\/i\u003edementia--including the scourge of Alzheimer's disease. Moving, intimate, unexpectedly hopeful and redemptive, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Vanishing Family\u003c\/i\u003e is an enthralling narrative about one family's fate, and a medical detective story that speaks to all of us who fear losing ourselves at the end.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Doubleday Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496246706454,"sku":"9780385551038","price":42.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9780385551038.jpg?v=1783058130","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/the-vanishing-family-love-fate-and-the-quest-to-end-dementia","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}