Teresa Rothaar

I usually don't listen to this type of music. I stumbled upon this album accidentally, while reading a post on Quora. It's a devastatingly beautiful musical exposition of a mind's descent into dementia. The first three stages are somewhat normal, though the music gets more distorted as the stages go on. The latter part of Stage 3 is creepy. Stage 4 is frightening, and Stage 5 is utter lunacy -- snippets of music distorted by static, pops and cracks, random sounds (I think I heard bird calls), and voices speaking words that cannot be made out. If you've ever wondered why dementia patients get angry and combative, imagine your mind tormenting you like that 24/7. Their own minds are attacking them and driving them mad. Stage 6 is far more sad than scary. There's no music, just static and nondescript background noise. Space probably sounds like this. Then, near the very end, suddenly we hear what could be interpreted as angels singing. This goes on for a few minutes before abruptly stopping, and then complete silence to end the album. The patient's years of torment and anguish are finally over. This thing stays with you. Listen to it, think about it, then do whatever you can to advocate for research into this horrible disease. I'm a cancer survivor. I would rather my cancer come back metastatic than be diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's would be worse. We need a cure, or at least effective treatments.