Where did I leave my glasses? : the what, when and why of normal memory loss / Martha Weinman Lear.

Whatsisname: the name problem -- Multitasking: the attention problem -- The upside of forgetting -- Gender and memory -- Exercise and memory -- The things we never forget -- The 57 varieties of memory -- Amnesia, Hollywood style: forget it -- Memory and its deceptions -- Ouch! That hurts to remember -- The Med student syndrome: this must be Alzheimer's -- When isn't it normal: who hid my keys? -- Diet and memory -- It's all in the computer, isn't it? -- Flashbulb memory: where were you when... -- The big picture: why did this happen to me, Mr. Darwin? -- Beyond the botox generation: memory and tomorrow.

According to author Lear and the memory experts she taps in the book, the memory lapses that begin in middle age are typically no cause for alarm. In fact, remembering less in later years is rarely a sign of Alzheimer's or any other scary memory-loss condition. It's just a part of normal aging. On her hunt for answers, Lear explores why names are the first things to go and what can be done about it, why we forget certain things on purpose, why we forget more than our parents did and in which cases our brains are actually doing us a favor by letting go of certain knowledge. Weaving together insight from psychologists, neuroscientists, and evolutionary biologists with rich and often hilarious anecdotes, Lear offers reassurance and hope to the millions of forgetful baby boomers.--From publisher description.