Dancing with Elephants

Mindfulness Training For Those Living With Dementia, Chronic Illness or an Aging Brain (How to Die Smiling Book 1)

Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
248 Pages
Reviewed on 05/20/2017
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Sefina Hawke for Readers' Favorite

Dancing with Elephants: Mindfulness Training For Those Living With Dementia, Chronic Illness or an Aging Brain (How to Die Smiling Book 1) by Jarem Sawatsky is a non-fiction grief/hardship book. This is a book that would appeal most to an adult audience of those who suffer from memory disorders, caregivers of those with mental disorders, and people who are close to an age where they might begin to experience memory problems. This book is designed to teach the reader how to live their life to the fullest, regardless of their mental/memory problems. Jarem Sawatsky teaches about how to continue living life even when diagnosed with an incurable illness through healing practices, real life stories, perspective changes, and practical tools.

Dancing with Elephants by Jarem Sawatsky pulled me in as soon as I saw the cover; not only was the cover image of the two elephants beautiful, but it also had a sub title that explained the whole purpose of the book in an easy to understand and concise manner. My grandfather has dementia and this is the first time I have come across a book that focused on living with it and living well, instead of just coping techniques. As a psychology student, I found the idea of changing one's perspective towards the condition to be an interesting idea that I would love to explore in the future. I really liked the way that the author avoided the use of medical jargon and instead wrote the book in a manner that anyone could understand.

Maria

A very good read. The author Jarem Sawatsky encourages the reader to live mindfully and to let go. His poem "Letting Go" (p. 35) expresses a powerful truth for all of us: the young, the old, the healthy, the people living with disabilities and those living with an incurable disease: "How deeply can I let go of entitlement? Can I let go of entitlement to work? To status? .... " Towards the end of the book "Dancing with Elephants", the author returns to the topic of entitlement which leads to anger. I found this connection between letting go, entitlement and anger to be a very helpful insight. Thank you, Jarem.