CHOOSING JOY

Our attitude was not one of presiding over the deterioration of a human being but rather of building something new together, of collaborating on this complex new challenge that life had presented to us.” — CHOOSING JOY

“Alzheimer’s disease has many victims. The role of the caregiver is crucial to providing the Alzheimer patient the best possible quality of life. Caregivers suffer from enormous stress and sometimes stress-related illnesses, including depression and cardiovascular disease. “Helene and Ady succeeded in finding ways to make their lives happy and fulfilling — and Ady continued, against all odds, to improve in his final years. This book gives concrete guidance and delivers a message of joy and hope to all who must make this journey. I recommend it to any family struggling with Alzheimer’s or dementia.” — Ranjan Duara, MD, Medical Director, Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease & Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach

“Helene Berger has written a lovely book that is packed with accessible wisdom and practical inspiration. CHOOSING JOY can provide us all — regardless of where we are in life — with the courage to pursue happiness and the road map to find it.” — Tal Ben-Shahar, author of Happier and Choose the Life You Want

“CHOOSING JOY is a love story of the most practical sort, a treasure of tenderness, insight and, most of all, helpfulness.” — David Lawrence, Jr., former publisher of the Miami Herald, founder of the Children’s Movement of Florida, author of A Dedicated Life.

“Helene Berger’s CHOOSING JOY is a rare work in that it is both inspirational and practical. Beautifully written and organized, it is an account of commitment, courage, and hope. Alzheimer’s and dementia run in my family. Had I had her book as a guide, it would have most certainly informed my choices. Helene and Ady’s story is a testament to the profound impact of love and patience and a beautiful example of a life well lived. Her sage advice to ‘embrace the journey’ has transformed how I approach every day.” — Susan Wissler, Executive Director, the Mount, home of Edith Wharton Writers-in-Residence

About the Author:

Helene Berger has held major positions of leadership throughout her life and is known as a powerful and inspirational speaker. In her home community of Miami, she has served on the first Dade County Commission on the Status of Women and has served for over forty years on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation (GMJF). She was President of the GMJF Women’s Department and President of the Miami Central Agency for Jewish Education. On the national level, she was the National Chair of the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA); on the Council of Jewish Federations (CJF) Board and Executive Com-mittee, where she was National Chair of the CJF -Women’s Department; and for thirty years on the board of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). She has spoken throughout the country in these capacities with the goal of marshaling help for large and diverse groups of people with a wide array of needs. CHOOSING JOY, her first book, was inspired by the unanticipated positive results her husband achieved after his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.