Manchester Professor honours his father in new book on World Alzheimer’s Day

To mark World Alzheimer’s Day, Saturday 21 September, Professor Douglas Field is announcing the release of a new book, Walking in the dark: James Baldwin, my father and me, a moving literary exploration of the disease.

Douglas Field was introduced to Baldwin’s essays and novels by his father, who witnessed the writer’s debate with William F. Buckley Jr. at Cambridge University in 1965. Professor Field rediscovered Baldwin’s works when his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and turning to Baldwin for answers about his father’s condition inspired Field to write his book.  

Set for publication by Manchester University Press in November 2024, Walking in the dark blends biography with memoir. By interweaving his personal experiences with Baldwin’s iconic works, Field demonstrates the power of literature to inspire and illuminate new understandings of both our personal experiences, and the universal mysteries of everyday life.

Douglas Field is a writer, academic and Professor of American Literature. He has published two books on James Baldwin, the most recent of which is All Those Strangers: The Art and Lives of James Baldwin (2015). His work has been published in Bear Scene, The Big Issue, the Guardian and the Times Literary Supplement, where he has been a regular contributor for twenty years. He is a founding editor of James Baldwin Review.

Led by Alzheimer’s Disease International, World Alzheimer’s Day takes place on 21 September, during World Alzheimer’s Month. The 2024 campaign and World Alzheimer Report, which will be launched on 20 September, will centre on challenging why people still wrongly believe that dementia is a part of normal ageing.

Leading up to 21 September, Alzheimer’s organisations and individuals affected by the condition share stories to raise awareness and address the stigma that exists around Alzheimer’s and dementia. Public awareness campaigns, like World Alzheimer’s Day, are of great importance for changing perceptions and increasing existing public knowledge around Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

This year’s campaign will centre around the tagline: ‘Time to act on dementia, Time to act on Alzheimer’s’, focusing on changing attitudes towards the condition, while highlighting the positive steps being undertaken by organisations and governments globally to develop a more dementia friendly society.

Professor Douglas Field is holding a free public book launch for Walking in the dark, taking place at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation and hosted by Professor David Olusoga OBE. 

• Details of the book launch are available here.
• For more information about Walking in the dark, visit Manchester University Press here.
• Find out more about World Alzheimer’s day here.