The 36-Hour Day
36 Years of THE 36-HOUR DAY
From Unwanted to Over 3 Million Copies Sold
The Story of the Book on Alzheimer/Dementia Care
As The Johns Hopkins University Press (JHUP) publishes the 6th edition of THE 36-HOUR DAY: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Other Dementias, and Memory Loss, by Nancy L. Mace and Peter V. Rabins, let’s pause a moment to reflect on the 36-year journey of this amazing and incredibly helpful book.
With more than 3 million copies sold worldwide since the book was first published in 1981, THE 36-HOUR DAY is JHUP’s best-selling book, but how did this book that has been called “a legend,” “a bible,” and “the best of its kind” come to be? Not unlike such classics as Catch-22, Harry Potter, The Hunt for Red October, Gone with the Wind and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl, before THE 36-HOUR DAY landed at JHUP, it was rejected by many book publishers.
By the late 1970s, Alzheimer Disease was becoming increasingly known but remained barely understood among the general public as the cause of dementia and memory loss in older patients. Managing the condition medically within psychiatry or geriatric departments was becoming more common, and the psychiatry department at the Johns Hopkins Hospital was one of the first in the nation to establish a special unit for patients with dementia. In 1979 as growing awareness of the disease brought more frequent requests for advice and information, two members of the program staff at Hopkins, Nancy Mace and Peter Rabins, collaborated on a short, pamphlet style FAMILY HANDBOOK, advising caregivers on understanding the disease, helping the person with dementia, and coping with the challenges of the caregiver’s role. The FAMILY HANDBOOK was mimeographed repeatedly by the department, and as requests for copies continued to increase, a 2nd edition was created in 1980. With the department overwhelmed by requests, Mace and Rabins explored the possibility of expanding the FAMILY HANDBOOK into a book, but they were turned away by numerous publishers who didn’t see a market and found the topic “depressing” and “uncomfortable.”
Frustrated by the process, Mace and Rabins nearly gave up, until the Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Johns Hopkins advised that Mace and Rabins “talk to the Press.” THE 36-HOUR DAY quickly found an appreciative home at JHUP, which then, as it does now, embraced the mission of publishing trusted, expert medical information for general readers. 36 years and 6 editions later, the central idea underlying the book—that much can be done to improve the lives of people with dementia and of those caring for them—remains the same.
While all the good THE 36-HOUR DAY has done in the world is arguably beyond measure, we can point to at least some of the numbers that suggest the scale of its impact and success: six editions published since 1981; sales in excess of 3 million copies including strong e-book and audio-book sales; praise and affection generated over the years that easily matches those sales figures; massive review attention and numerous awards from both professional and advocacy organizations.
After 36 years, THE 36-HOUR DAY is still the indispensable book for countless families and professionals caring for someone with dementia. THE 36-HOUR DAY is the definitive dementia care guide.
