Book cover of Memory's Last Breath: Field Notes on My Dementia

Book description

A "courageous and singular book" (Andrew Solomon), Memory's Last Breath is an unsparing, beautifully written memoir -- "an intimate, revealing account of living with dementia" (Shelf Awareness).

Based on the "field notes" she keeps in her journal, Memory's Last Breath is Gerda Saunders' astonishing window into a life distorted by…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Memory's Last Breath as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Gerda Saunders was diagnosed with cerebral microvascular disease, the leading cause of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, a few days before her sixty-first birthday. This forced her to confront her mortality and to write an end-of-life plan she could live with. Gerda is a brave, inspiring woman. Her book is a rich, thoughtful accounting of life with dementia.

From Marianne's list on living with dementia.

If you love Memory's Last Breath...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like Memory's Last Breath?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Memory's Last Breath.

Browse books like Memory's Last Breath

Book cover of Somebody I Used to Know: A Memoir
Book cover of Dementia from the Inside: A Doctor's Personal Journey of Hope
Book cover of Slow Puncture: Living Well With Dementia

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,340

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Memory's Last Breath, you might also like...

Book cover of Foxfire in the Snow

Foxfire in the Snow by J.S. Fields,

It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.

Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…

Book cover of The Main Gate

The Main Gate by Yvonne Kjorlien,

Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.

Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…

5 book lists we think you will like!