Quicksand of Forgetfulness

                                                                            

    Have you read this book yet? It describes a fictional town struck by a plague of insomnia and the inhabitents' loss of 'the name and notion of things'. The main character Jose begins to label everything in sight in case no one remembers the names of familiar objects. This famous novel was written in 1967 and describes an actual clinical condition first recognized in 1975. Marquez records the progressive breakdown of semantic memory in this classic novel that takes place in the fictional town of Macondo. 

    What does this novel have to do with modern memory issues? There is now a scientific name for patients with semantic dementia (SD).  Patients diagnosed with Dementia or Alzheimer's lose track of names and labels for everyday items. Marquez was ahead of his time in speculating how characters would cope with a dissolution of meaning. These ranged from ‘the spell of an imaginary reality’ to José Arcadio's ‘memory machine’.  Similar strategies are now used by dementia patients to cope with loss of memory.

    I am going to read this book now with a fresh viewpoint from my recently diagnosed memory loss. Luckily, I can still read and enjoy literature. I have always found comfort in reading. Now I am looking back in history to see how this disease existed throughout time and how people have survived it. I am now a published author and have a Masters's Degree in Education. I have taught reading and writing to students. Now I am looking at this subject from my viewpoint as a 68 year old. I don't feel old enough to be diagnosed with a memory disease that may affect my ability to read and comprehend. It scares me to death! I can feel my blood pressure rising as I write this. I will do everything I can to keep my brain alive and continue to read and learn.

    My doctor just put me on a new brain medication to improve my memory. I am taking it twice a day and hoping for the best results. I panic now every time I forget something. Is my memory getting worse or is it just my age? I don't know. I am not going to start labeling common objects in my environment yet like this classic novel. I am not that far gone. It scares me though. I guess I won't realize when I don't remember everyday item names. However, my family will notice and that is very embarrassing. So if you have a family member who starts to forget, please help them. 

     I am going to read this classic book by Marquez about a surreal legendary city where the inhabitants label their household items before they forget. At some future point, you may have a loved one may slip into the 'quicksand of forgetfulness.' It is not a place where anyone chooses to go. Do not laugh at them. Forgive your relatives when they forget and give them a hug. Let them know that you are still there for them. That is what matters most in life. We all want to love and be loved. Just like the inhabitants of this imaginary village in a long-ago novel, we are all scared of forgetting things. Hug your loved ones today!

'Life is not what one lived, but what one remembers and how one remembers it in order to recount it.’

            Gabriel García Márquez

                                                        "100 Years of Solitude"