Losing My Mind: An Intimate Look at Life with Alzheimer's » (Reprint)

Thomas DeBaggio has worked as both a professional herb grower and a newspaper journalist. The author of Growing Herbs from Seed, Cutting & Root, Basil: An Herb Lover's Guide (with Susan Belsinger), and The Big Book of Herbs (with Arthur O. Tucker), he lives with his wife in Arlington, Virginia.

Tom DeBaggio turned fifty-seven in 1999. One day he mentioned to his doctor that he seemed to be stumbling into forgetfulness. DeBaggio was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. He immediately began charting the ups and downs of his failing mind. Here is the captivating tale of DeBaggio's battle to stay connected with the world...

Book Magazine

Hideous irony, that a memoir about memory loss could be so unforgettable. At fifty-seven, DeBaggio, a commercial gardener who has written books on the subject, finds himself in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Writing from the afflicted point of view was a difficult undertaking. "After 40 years of pussyfooting with words," he says, "I finally had a story of hell to tell." The author puts on a brave face but thankfully doesn't try to maintain it throughout. The book's unconventional narrative combines childhood memories with excerpts from medical reports; its choppy style is a necessary consequence of DeBaggio's diminishing condition. Oddly, the approach helps him explain the disease that is fast becoming unexplainable for him. DeBaggio frets that he lived "an ordinary life by definition"—only to conclude that the hand he's been dealt is anything but ordinary. This amazing book is both a lament and a muted kind of celebration. "It is the most exciting time in my life," DeBaggio acknowledges. "As it should be."
—James Sullivan