Not another “inspirational” book for caregivers

There’s quite a lot of literature growing up around caregiving these days. One of the latest and best entries is a compilation of caregiving essays titled, for some obscure reason, “An Uncertain Inheritance: Writers on Caring for Family.” I picked it off the shelf at the local library, and I am not done reading it yet, but I’m going to go ahead and recommend it, particularly to caregivers who may be operating “in a vacuum.” By that, I mean they do not belong to a caregiver support group or know other caregivers or even subscribe to a caregiver listserv, and therefore don’t have anyone with whom to share their caregiving experiences and emotions. For such people, “An Uncertain Inheritance” provides the welcome reassurance that they are not the only caregivers who have not been compassionate enough, who have not been informed enough, who have not been proactive enough and who are basically screw-ups. I have read quite a few articles but admittedly few books about caregiving. I have scanned the literature, and it tends to be too “inspirational” for my tastes. Even when acknowledging the burdens of caregiving, the tone is one of strength and selflessness in adversity. This is distinctly different from the tone I see in, for example, the caregiver listserv I belong to where everybody is fraught, overwhelmed, resentful and madly propping each other up. The essays in this book are more like the listserv. One of the authors complains about how sw...
Source: Caregiver Notes - Category: Caregivers Authors: Tags: Caregiver lifestyle Caregiver's resources Caregiver's role Caregiving support Senior Health Alzheimer's disease blog blogger book caregiver blog caregiving community jeff muise Uncertain Inheritance William Morrow Company Source Type: blogs