November 9, 2019 | sobczakd
November is the time to recognize family caregivers who devote countless, unpaid hours to providing essential personal care to relatives and loved ones who cannot care for themselves. If you're a family caregiver, you are not alone. More than 65 million Americans are taking care of aging or disabled family members. The value of all that combined unpaid caregiving work adds up to an estimated $375 billion! Family caregivers balance the demand of jobs, careers, and raising children to provide care, comfort and compassion to their aging or disabled loved one. The cost of caregiving not only impacts a family's budget, but the stress can take its toll too. Thank you to all those family caregivers! Your community appreciates you. Need to learn more? Check out these resources on caregiving.
Alzheimers books should help everyone involved through this incredibly difficult time. That's why Alzheimer's Through the Stages shows you what you can do for your loved one--and yourself--every step of the way. This book's detailed descriptions of all seven stages of the disease are both helpful and comforting. With each section divided into three parts--what to expect, what to say, and what to do--this is one of the easiest to use Alzheimers books for caregivers.
From cherished memories of weekends she spent as a child with her indulgent Nana to the reality of the year she spent "ladysitting" her now frail grandmother, Lorene Cary journeys through stories of their time together and five generations of their African American family. Brilliantly weaving a narrative of her complicated yet transformative relationship with Nana--a fierce, stubborn, and independent woman, who managed a business until she was 100--Cary looks at Nana's impulse to control people and fate, from the early death of her mother and oppression in the Jim Crow South to living on her own in her New Jersey home.
Cary knew there might be some reckonings to come. Nana was a force: Her obstinacy could come out in unanticipated ways--secretly getting a driver's license to show up her husband, carrying on a longtime feud with Cary's father. But Nana could also be devoted: to Nana's father, to black causes, and--Cary had thought--to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Facing the inevitable end raises tensions, with Cary drawing on her spirituality and Nana consoling herself with late-night sweets and the loyalty of caregivers. When Nana doubts Cary's dedication, Cary must go deeper into understanding this complicated woman. In Ladysitting, Cary captures the ruptures, love, and, perhaps, forgiveness that can occur in a family as she bears witness to her grandmother's 101 vibrant years of life.
With a foreword by Judy Woodruff, The Unexpected Journey of Caring is a practical guide to finding personal meaning in the 21st century care experience. Personal transformation is usually an experience we actively seek out--not one that hunts us down. Becoming a caregiver is one transformation that comes at us, requiring us to rethink everything we once knew. Everything changes--responsibilities, beliefs, hopes, expectations, and relationships. Caregiving is not just a role reserved for "saints"--eventually, everyone is drafted into the caregiver role. It's not a role people medically train for; it's a new type of relationship initiated by a loved one's need for care. And it's a role that cannot be quarantined to home because it infuses all aspects of our lives. Caregivers today find themselves in need of a crash course in new and unfamiliar skills. They must not only care for a loved one, but also access hidden community resources, collaborate with medical professionals, craft new narratives consistent with the changing nature of their care role, coordinate care with family, seek information and peer support using a variety of digital platforms, and negotiate social support--all while attempting to manage conflicts between work, life, and relationship roles. The moments that mark us in the transition from loved one to caregiver matter because if we don't make sense of how we are being transformed, we risk undervaluing our care experiences, denying our evolving beliefs, becoming trapped by other's misunderstandings, and feeling underappreciated, burned out, and overwhelmed. Informed by original caregiver research and proven advocacy strategies, this book speaks to caregiving as it unfolds, in all of its confusion, chaos, and messiness. Readers won't find well-intentioned clich s or care stereotypes in this book. There are no promises to help caregivers return to a life they knew before caregiving. No, this book greets caregivers where they are in their journey--new or chronic--not where others expect (or want) them to be.
The Last Ocean is Gerrard's investigation into what dementia does to both the person who lives with the condition and to their caregivers. Dementia is now one of the leading causes of death in the West, and this necessary book will offer both comfort and a map to those walking through it. While she begins with her father's long slip into forgetting, Gerrard expands to examine dementia writ large. Gerrard gives raw but literary shape both to the unimaginable loss of one's own faculties, as well as to the pain of their loved ones. Her lens is unflinching, but Gerrard honors her subjects and finds the beauty and the humanity in their seemingly diminished states.
Motherland is a story that touches every home and every life, mapping the ferocity of maternal love, moral obligation, the choices women make about motherhood, and the possibility of healing. Filled with tenderness, wry irreverence, and unforgettable characters, it is an exploration of what it means to escape from the shackles of the past only to have to face them all over again.
When Jann moved in to a house near her parents, the intent was to be close to them so they could be her refuge. When her dad died in 2015, Jann began to cook for her mum, whose memory was failing. Her mom found comfort in Jann's kitchen, and Jann loved spending time with her mum. Now with her mother in care, Jann is facing the end of their road together. The many people who are dealing with a loved one who is losing themselves will find inspiration and strength in Jann's wholehearted, loving response and her unique take on the upside-down world of a daughter mothering her mother.
Finding the right fit to match aging adults with the best caregiver to assist them in their home can be fraught with challenge. In today's pressurized world, the process involves overstressed family members and a shortage of great caregivers. So many adult children are seeking a helping hand and a friendly, experienced voice to guide them through this emotionally charged rite of passage. Aging with Care: Your Guide to Hiring and Managing Caregivers in the Home, takes a personal, professional, and sometimes humorous approach to the challenges, benefits, pitfalls and problems of hiring in-home caregivers. Here, two geriatric care experts explore the essential credentials and experience a home caregiver should have, pitfalls to avoid, hiring options and managing costs, and the decisions that go into finding the right fit for your loved one to be able to age in place. Sharing stories and insights from interviews with caregivers and elders, as well as industry experts, they walk you through the ins and outs, and provide you with the tools necessary to making the best care choices you can for the ones you love.
Caregiver's Survival Guide is based on Dr. Robert Yonover's personal experiences. While struggling to become a successful scientist and inventor, he also was primary caregiver for his paralyzed wife for more than twenty years and raised their two children. Yonover takes you into the throes of his life as a caregiver, husband, and father, offering guidance and hope through his story.