"In a Strange Land" is intended to be a guide and an encouragement to churches as they take up opportunities and face the challenges of understanding and sharing in the lives of those in their midst who are affected by dementia.

The title comes from a verse in Psalm 137: ‘How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land!’ (verse 4). Dementia is a strange land and Goldsmith asks whether it is possible to sing the Lord’s song within it; it is also a ‘foreign land’ for most churches and congregations. The author suggests that our experiences of dementia may not be dissimilar to the disaster and despair that the Israelites felt during their captivity in Babylon. This exile brought about new insights into the nature of God and new experiences of God’s presence and continuing care and love.

During the first part of the book Goldsmith attempts to describe the symptoms and behaviours that arise in people who have dementia. This is extremely well done for the lay reader and the metaphors he draws provide a very helpful understanding of the disease process. At every opportunity he introduces examples of the feelings and thoughts of real people who have written about their own experience of living with dementia, as well as the thoughts and feelings of those who care for them.

In dealing with the response of the local church Goldsmith emphasises the need to speak of a God whose nature is love, and encourages local congregations to approach those suffering from the disease in an affirming rather than a judgemental way. He encourages everyone to take seriously the spiritual needs of those involved with the disease including the carers, whose faith is often seriously tested. He reminds us that we have to minister to those with the disease and their carers at the spiritual level by allowing space and not simply by resorting to the use of language. He gives some very practical advice to churches and individuals on ways of ministering in a way that can be accessed by those with dementia and their carers.

This is a book that should be read and reflected on by all Christians, for what is said about dementia could be applied to other diseases and afflictions from which women and men suffer. It carries a message for all who seek to witness to the gospel by living it and seeking to communicate the good news of Jesus.

The book is about dementia, but it could be read as a guide to the ways in which churches approach the Disability Discrimination Act. When we are dealing with a person with a disability or dementia, the Christian is called upon to recognise the person involved. In all Christian relationships we are called upon to relate to the person and recognise the Christ as he is to be found in that person. It is as we love the Christ in each other that we will bring healing to that person and indeed to the whole of humanity.