Perhaps the end of this book is the place to begin. It is a quote from Kevin McKee: “If, as I suspect, there is a connection and not a discontinuity between the worlds of dementia and those without . . . then we have been culpable in the past of a hideous sin; that of denying humanity to those who, in their vulnerability, are perhaps most human.”

This illustrates the central challenge of this book: to understand and affirm that people with dementia may be seen primarily as people — people “unconditionally held within the love of God”, people who retain their personhood until death, though it may be difficult to access.

It is written in four parts: “Setting the Scene”, “Towards an Understanding of Care for People with Dementia”, “The Response of the Local Church”, and “Theological Reflection”. It was the second part that I found most illuminating and helpful, for there Goldsmith gives a lucid and challenging overview of the range of symptoms and behaviours that are covered by the single word “dementia”.

Then, with knowledge and compassion, he looks at communication and caring. Here he offers hope and understanding, as much to the carers as to the person who has dementia.

I have had the care of a relative with dementia, and I wish this book had been available to me at the time. Above all, it offers hope, as it traces the changing culture — from a bio-medical approach that treated the symptoms and produced the language of disintegration, loss and emptiness, to the person-centred approach that, while recognising the value of the bio-medical approach, still attempts to engage with the person who has the condition — “recognising and learning to engage with the unique, active and on-going person, who continues to struggle to make sense of their world from within the condition” (Kate Allen).

It is Goldsmith’s knowledge and understanding of the condition, together with his pastoral ministry and faith, which will make this book helpful to churches and ministers who want to deepen their understanding and broaden their ministry. People with dementia are a sizeable part of the population — Goldsmith suggests they number 500-600,000, of whom 15-20,000 may be under 45.

It is, also, a book that will help some people who have the condition, as well as their carers and friends, and professional carers.