BBC A RADIO 4 Book Of The Week

A Telegraph Best Summer Book 2023

“Kiper’s work is deeply moving and often surprising. Through case studies both tragic and hauntingly relatable, she provides scientific grounding for what the beleaguered caregivers go through. With understanding comes the permission for, and perhaps a chance at, self-forgiveness.”

— The Wall Street Journal

“Kiper . . . evinces a capaciousness of sympathy and understanding for Alzheimer’s patients and (especially) their caregivers. . . . For the frustrated caregiver, trapped in a vicious psychodynamic that is dehumanizing to both parties, this may provide some valuable solace.”

—The American Scholar

“An elegant, empathetic, immensely informative, and insightful primer for caregivers as they try to navigate the fragmented, skewed world of the cognitively impaired.”

—Psychology Today

“A work of exceptional compassion ... deeply imaginative ... immeasurably valuable.”

― Guardian

“Startling and moving ... a book so humane and quietly profound that everyone should read it.”

― FT

”Kiper can write with an Oliver Sacks-like clarity ... a wise book, and one that is unsettling in the best way.”

-- James McConnachie ― New Scientist

“What if caregivers are just as much victims of Alzheimer's as their charges? ... a fascinating account of the psychology of caregiving ... the message of this compassionate book is that confusion is, deep down, part of the human condition.”

― Daily Telegraph

“This book will forever change the way we see people with dementia disorders-and the people who care for them. Kiper compassionately illuminates the complex bond between us and our loved ones suffering from cognitive decline, surprising us with what we can learn about ourselves through this experience and the ways our own minds both deceive us and make us uniquely human.”

-- Lori Gottlieb, New York Times-bestseller author of Maybe You Should Talk To Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

“In this thoughtful debut, Kiper skillfully illuminates psychological concepts, and her poignant experiences bring them to life, sensitively broaching issues of free will, identity, and loss. Those dealing with dementia will find solace in this compassionate investigation of the human mind.”

― Publisher’s Weekly

“A humane approach to the silent epidemic of cognitive decline.”

― Kirkus Review

”The best book I have ever read that explores the effect on the brain of the carer, when someone has dementia. Unmissable for anyone who is supporting a carer. Helped my understanding leap forward.”

-- Prof June Andrews, author ― Dementia: The One-Stop Guide

”Informative, insightful, and enriched by hard-won experience ... [Kiper's] work is about finding better stories to help carers manage their emotions .... a guide to thinking better about the social dynamics of dementia care.”

― TLS

”Skillfully crafted case studies illustrate the tensions between patient and caregiver ... Kiper takes inspiration from Oliver Sacks, and, like Sacks, peppers her clinical observations with apposite literary allusions (to Borges, Kafka and Melville, inter alia).”

― Literary Review

”Astute and humane ... engaging ... a unique and essential read.”

― Irish Times

“Painful, poignant, funny, revealing and instructive ... Dasha Kiper has words of advice and support for those who are caring for loved ones with dementia.”

― Radio Times

“A kind and thought provoking book; poignant and full of rich insights from neuroscience and social psychology, skilfully introduced to make the stories come alive. Dasha Kiper's book is full of accessible insights into the complexity of travelling between the past, present and future, and her rich and humane perspective is hopeful as well as grounded in the reality of what people suffer.”

― The Devil You Know

“Inspired by her experience as a live-in carer for a Holocaust survivor with Alzheimer's disease, Kiper blends clinical psychology and literary verve in a timely exploration of the psychology of caregiving.”

― Financial Times

“Drawing on case studies that focus on both the person with dementia and the care-giver, the book makes use of neuroscience and psychology to provide a new perspective on the condition and its effects.”

― Daily Telegraph

“Fascinating ... a worthwhile and accessible read both for carers and those who may not understand the pressures under which these often underappreciated workers must somehow find ways to survive the loss of a loved one who continues to live.”

― Bookmunch

“Filled with insights and clinical jewels from start to finish, this book has much to teach us about the brain, our emotions, and the self. It is a treasure.”

-- Norman Doidge, author of The Brain that Changes Itself

“How do we cope with those who have lost something as profound as the ‘normal’ sense of self? Travelers to Unimaginable Lands is a compassionate and insightful book about dementia and its startling effects.”

-- Roz Chast, author of Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?

“Stirring, persuasive, and memorable . . . an eloquent and gripping book about personalities and the dances between them, exposing what dementia reveals about both the patient and the caretaker.”

--David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Stanford, author of Livewired

“This book—richly endowed with experience and wisdom—is a treasure. I predict a long life for Travelers to Unimaginable Lands for anyone interested in or intimately involved with those afflicted by dementia.”

-- Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments

“Dasha Kiper’s exhilarating and enlightening book offers sensitive, intimate portraits of Alzheimer’s caregivers and their loved ones, enhanced by an informed tour of the mind and how it works. For them, Kiper provides a priceless way to find the meaning in the journey and to feel less alone.”

-- Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road