An inquisitive science writer whose mother died of Alzheimer’s tries to cut through the hype and determine her own risk of getting the disease.  

As she turned 50, inquisitive science writer Carol Berkower was haunted by the prospect of getting Alzheimer’s — the disease that killed her mother.

She posed the question: Is there a way to cut through the hype and find out what measures, if any, will help stave off dementia?  Then she went on a fact-finding mission that took her all the way back to the prominent New York doctor who first diagnosed her mother.

In this engaging account of her journey in The Washington Post, Berkower surely cut through the hype. While she didn’t find definitive answers, she did derive a scientifically informed prescription for living her life.