This book argues for sexual generosity, an attitude rooted in a wish for the beloved's happiness and romantic fulfillment beyond the marriage. A broader view of fidelity can strengthen marriage in the age of Alzheimer's.
Husbands and wives owe each other sexual intercourse: Jewish and Christian theologians have cultivated this expectation. What happens to a traditional marriage when Alzheimer's disease frustrates this expectation? This book argues for sexual generosity, an attitude rooted in a wish for the beloved's happiness and romantic fulfillment beyond the marriage. A broader view of fidelity can strengthen marriage in the age of Alzheimer's.
John Portmann is to be applauded for tackling a challenging and complex issue that he rightly points out is largely unacknowledged but that will only become more important as the mass of Baby Boomers continues to age.-Stephen Sapp, University of Miami
The Ethics of Sex and Alzheimer's confronts matters of sexual ethics that are usually left unspoken, but which can (and do) lead to great confusion and pain for otherwise loving and committed partners. Reading this book will not only help the reader to engage sexual ethics at important religious and social levels, it will prepare the reader to confront the possibility of having to navigate a life after the interruption of Alzheimer's.
This book is a must read for a broad range of scholars in religion and ethics, their students, clergy, medical care givers, and most importantly: partners and spouses.-Richard W. McCarty, Mercyhurst University
Dr. Portman takes the field of religious study to a whole new level with this new book. He confronts the world and asks us each to look deep inside - to examine our feelings as we ponder a relationship dilemma involving dementia... now the cat is out of the bag: 'until death do us part' may now have a whole new meaning.-Doug Wornell, geriatric psychiatrist and the author of Wandering Explorers: Practical Dementia for Families and Caregivers
John Portmann has written a thoughtful and moving meditation on contemporary sexual ethics, particularly respecting the sex of older people. While billed as a book about sex and Alzheimer's, it is far more than that; it is a far-ranging plea to consider the virtue of generosity in all of our sexual dealings and in our attitudes toward those of others.-Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Indiana University
John Portmann is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. He studied philosophy at Yale and Cambridge Universities. He is the author of When Bad Things Happen to Other People (2000), Sex and Heaven (2003), and A History of Sin (2007).