UA Women’s Resource Center to Show Documentary on Alzheimer’s Disease

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama Women’s Resource Center will be showing the documentary film “Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter” on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at noon in the Ferguson Center Forum as part of the Brown Bag lecture series.

This Academy Award-nominated documentary chronicles the various stages of Alzheimer’s disease of the filmmaker’s 84-year-old mother, Doris Hoffmann.

Hoffmann’s disease began when she was in her early 70s and progressed rapidly after her husband passed away. Soon, it became necessary for her daughter, Deborah, to become involved in her care. The film shows Deborah’s desire to cure the incurable; her commitment to change her mother eventually gives way to an acceptance, which is liberating for both daughter and mother.

After the initial frustration of trying to locate a place for her increasingly dependent mother to live, Deborah finds a facility with an enlightened approach towards Alzheimer’s patients. This alternately funny and heartbreaking production is an exploration of family relations, aging, the meaning of memory and the tenacity of love.

The event is open to the public; participants are encouraged to bring a sack lunch as part of the WRC Brown Bag series. For more information, contact the WRC at 205/348-5040.