We Are Not Our Parents’ Parent
I often refer to my 89-year-old mother as the Energizer Bunny. She’s always on the go and is good at recharging her reservoir of energy. While her walking is limited, my mom still drives and enjoys running errands. On a recent trip to the supermarket, my mother encountered a sudden unexpected storm as she left the store. “There were buckets of rain,” my mother recalled. “Fortunately, a nice woman helped me load my groceries into the car and I managed to get home safely.”
My Parent’s Keeper
The Guilt, Grief, Guesswork, and Unexpected Gifts of Caregiving
My Parent’s Keeper: The Guilt, Grief, Guesswork, and Unexpected Gifts of Caregiving, by senior care expert Jody Gastfriend, provides fresh, provocative and ultimately optimistic insights into the experience of caring for an aging parent or family member. Using the latest research and drawing on case histories and poignant interviews, the book is a resource as well as an inspiration for family caregivers. The book combines powerful and relatable stories illustrating a broad range of caregiving challenges. For many, the transformational life passage of caring for an aging parent, along with the pain, can bring simple pleasures and a deeper appreciation of one’s own aging.
With a foreword by Representative Patrick J. Kennedy, this essential guide to caring for aging and ailing family members provides actionable advice, illuminating vignettes, and a compassionate approach to helping family caregivers find gratification in their new role. Beyond the “how to do it,” the book offers “how to grow through it.”
