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Turn of Mind


A first novel that is both lyrical and shocking.
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Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia?

Created: 05/18/12

Replies: 10

Posted May. 18, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert

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Posts: 0

Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia?

Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia? Think of her visions, her visitations, her fantasy life.


Posted May. 22, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
susann

Join Date: 04/28/11

Posts: 13

RE: Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia?

She is able to re-live parts of her life that could never happen again, to see and be with people who have died, to see herself as a strong and capable and respected person. Everyone around her views her with sadness at what has been lost, but clearly she has NOT lost all her memories, she has rearranged them.


Posted May. 22, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
gaili

Join Date: 10/13/11

Posts: 9

RE: Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia?

I think her status as a doctor and having enough income to allow her to live at home with full-time care makes her more privileged than most people with dementia. Her intelligence also allows her to sometimes see what is happening to her. She uses her medical background to see herself as a case study. I also think her dementia made her forget the bad things.


Posted May. 23, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
mbt1963

Join Date: 10/28/11

Posts: 15

RE: Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia?

I agree that her status as a doctor made her more privileged. I did sometimes wonder if she did remember more than she was willing to tell.


Posted May. 23, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
poornimaa

Join Date: 05/16/12

Posts: 53

RE: Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia?

While nobody with dementia could really be considered privileged, in a sense, Jennifer's revisiting her past allowed her room to create her own version of history sometimes. That in itself is a kind of privilege.


Posted May. 23, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
jwbriggs13

Join Date: 05/09/12

Posts: 37

RE: Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia?

I agree that her professional and economic positions gave Jessica certain privileges. Likewise, her dementia put her in a more privileged position with the police and legal system as well as with her family and friends. They would accept that she couldn't always give them a straight answer. While people did become frustrated when trying to communicate with her, her dementia served to protect her as well.


Posted May. 25, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
dorothyt

Join Date: 04/10/11

Posts: 102

RE: Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia?

There were times when Jennifer was unaware of her condition, as when she went back to the clinic and started seeing patients. I believe many dementia patients are unaware of what they have lost. When Jennifer referred to her children or her caregiver as people she didn't know, she did not seem at all upset about it. Maybe that detachment, as painful as it is for family members, is a blessing for Jennifer and others like her.


Posted May. 26, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
lisag

Join Date: 01/12/12

Posts: 298

RE: Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia?

Her healthcare was a benefit of having so much money. That's one advantage. At least she wasn't treated like so many elderly patients who are abused. Her care seemed top notch.

She had the benefit of a loving daughter, who protected her (partially) from her money-grubbing son.

As to her visions, she'd lived a rich (not as in money) life and all that gave her much to remember in her visions. She'd also been well-respected and this came out in her fantasy life when she believed she was still a practicing doctor.


Posted May. 29, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
marganna

Join Date: 10/14/11

Posts: 153

RE: Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia?

It's been said, it's the sick family member who's the lucky one. Those who love and give care suffer the most.
And from a money and care view point, Jennifer is privileged.


Posted Jul. 31, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
jacquelynh

Join Date: 06/14/11

Posts: 34

RE: Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia?

It has been my experience that the sick family member is the one who is given the most attention. Privileged? I'm not so sure as it almost never happens that the attention that comes the way to the demented, is appreciated or understood. They are so confused in what is happening to them that there is no normal reaction to privilege. From what I've seen they are mostly frightened and try to cover up or so thoroughly confused that they have fear. Jennifer's money may have bought her physical comfort, but little else.


Posted Sep. 05, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
connieh

Join Date: 11/13/11

Posts: 1

RE: Are there ways in which Jennifer is privileged in her dementia?

Certainly her affluence makes her somewhat privileged in her dementia, allowing her to live at home with care.


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