Alzheimer's disease and the loss of self

This article focuses on the fact that persons (including the author) who are entering the later stages of life are confronted with the real possibility that they may become afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. It proposes an alternative to speculating about one's own chances of becoming afflicted, which is to enter imaginatively into the world of the Alzheimer's patient, and uses contemporary poems to assist in this regard. It notes that the author's attempt to "join the patient" led to the realization that Alzheimer's disease does not, as is commonly believed, completely obliterate the self. Recognizing the inevitable limits of one's ability to imagine what it is like to suffer from Alzheimer's disease, it advocates the embracing of forgetfulness as an integral part of the self.