How one family's heartbreak could help find a cure for dementia

It began with a mother of nine. When she was around 41, her youngest daughter Barb noticed a change in the woman she'd always known as loving and attentive. Her mother descended into alcoholism and depression. Then, one by one, Barb's siblings began to change too. Eventually five of her eight siblings withdrew from their families, their jobs and their lives. Barb suspected this wasn't simply a family curse, but something written into their genes. She was right. It was a rare form of dementia that steals far more than memories. In his new book writer Robert Kolker tells the story of a family haunted by a genetic disorder that each child has a 50-50 chance of inheriting and how their genes may help researchers learn more about treating dementia. The book is called The Vanishing Family: Love, Fate, and the Quest to End Dementia. Jesse chats to Robert.