Many people with Alzheimer’s, when they begin to notice the ravages of the disease, incorporate a notebook into their routine in which they write down names, dates, details and stories that they want to remember when their memory does not allow it. Rosa Maria Vivar did something similar but with a recipe book, a notebook in which she wrote down those preparations that she had prepared all her life, that she cooked with her family or for them, and that she refused to forget.
In those pages he compiled ingredients, cooking times and methods, but also names (who had taught him the recipe or who it reminded him of) and other details that he did not want to forget. Some time later, Margarita Oliva, daughter of Rosa Maria Vivar and president of the homonymous foundation that supports Alzheimer’s patients in their daily lives and that of their families, came across that personal recipe book that she has now decided to publish accompanied by the personal story in the solidarity book With A for Love. With A for Alzheimer’s, with a prologue by chef Carme Ruscalleda.
Under the subtitle Family stories and recipes that could not erase the memory, several of the preparations that Vivar collected before he was diagnosed with the disease are rescued, such as cuttlefish with potatoes and all i oli or truffled pork loin, and which form part of the family legacy. Oliva, who spent many moments with her mother in the kitchen, decided to publish them accompanied by a personal story of the disease to narrate the experiences of a person with Alzheimer’s and the family members who accompany them, almost as a tribute.
Through an emotional autobiographical narrative, the book reveals the impact of the disease in a family environment and discovers, little by little, the moving story of the care and love expressed through cooking, as well as the way in which food It can serve as a link with the past or is a catalyst for positive emotions in sick people.
But more than a recipe book, the book is a witness to the resource that a person with Alzheimer’s resorted to in order to continue making and remembering those dishes that are part of their identity. In the manuscript, according to Oliva, some recipes are unfinished, others duplicated, and many incorporate personal notes that were used to remember events or family members.
Likewise, it addresses the role of cuisine in the generational legacy and delves into the experiences of a disease that affects some 800,000 people in Spain, according to the latest data published by the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN) in 2022, and which is the most common form of dementia, accounting for around 60% of cases, according to the same entity.
With A for love. With A for Alzheimer’s also incorporates the expert voice of the doctor in Psychology Gentzane Carbajo, who analyzes the emotional complexity that surrounds the disease and reflects on the relationship between memory and cooking, and has the testimony of chef Carme Ruscalleda, who He addresses his own experience with Alzheimer’s in the prologue and describes the book as “a hymn to family love and the generous act of cooking.”
The full amount of the book (22 euros) will be allocated to research and social awareness projects for the prevention of Alzheimer’s and can be purchased on the foundation’s website.
