This is a book that the dementia care field has been waiting for. It dispels the myth that caring for people with dementia is an unskilled, task-orientated chore and instead replaces such stereotypes with an emphasis on what works, what can work and what skills are necessary to work alongside people with dementia and their families at the onset of their condition. This emphasis is all the more pressing given the priority ascribed to early diagnosis and intervention. The book draws on research and practice-based evidence from the UK and other European countries and summarises this work in accessible, succinct and balanced prose. While I found the contributions informative, I was particularly pleased to read a chapter on art therapy by Steffi Urbas that formed part of a rehabilitation programme for people with early-stage dementia in Germany. This non-verbal approach to psychotherapy stood as a neat contrast to the ‘talking therapies’ exemplars (group/couple/individual) that formed the larger part of the book.