Dear Caregiver Its Your Life Too

Linda Abbit, founder of Tender Loving Eldercare and a veteran of the caregiving industry, shares her advice on taking care of an older parent or loved one and how to handle everything that goes along with this dramatic life change. Being a caregiver can be a difficult role. It requires patience, tenderness, selflessness, and hard work. Providing care for someone, whether it’s a parent, a loved one, or as a professional requires a high level of self-love and self-care. But while it may be a rewarding experience to care for a loved one, the emotional and physical stress of caregiving can lead to burnout and exhaustion—causing caregivers to put themselves and their own well-being in the background. How can you fulfill your role as a caregiver without losing yourself? Conscious Caregiver teaches you how to navigate caring for your loved one, whether it’s full-time in-house caregiving or hiring support from outside services. With information on how to talk to your loved ones about the situation, handle the emotional stress, stay financially secure, and take the time to care for yourself, this guide can help you care for your loved one and yourself at the same time.

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE BALSILLIE PRIZE FOR PUBLIC POLICY It took the coronavirus pandemic to open our eyes to the deplorable state of so many of the nation's long-term care homes: the inhumane conditions, overworked and underpaid staff, and lack of oversight. In this timely new book, esteemed health reporter André Picard reveals the full extent of the crisis in eldercare, and offers an urgently needed prescription to fix a broken system. When COVID-19 spread through seniors' residences across Canada, the impact was horrific. Along with widespread illness and a devastating death toll, the situation exposed a decades-old crisis: the shocking systemic neglect towards our elders. Called in to provide emergency care in some of the hardest-hit facilities in Ontario and Quebec, the military issued damning reports of what they encountered. And yet, the failings that were exposed--unappetizing meals, infrequent baths, overmedication, physical abuse and inadequate personal care--have persisted for years in these institutions. In Neglected No More, André Picard takes a hard look at how we came to embrace mass institutionalization, and lays out what can and must be done to improve the state of care for our elders, a highly vulnerable population with complex needs and little ability to advocate for themselves. Picard shows that the entire eldercare system--fragmented, underfunded and unsupported--is long overdue for a fundamental rethink. We need to find ways to ensure seniors can age gracefully in the community for longer, with supportive home care and respite for family caregivers, and ensure that long-term care homes are not warehouses of isolation and neglect. Our elders deserve nothing less.

“One of those rare books that can drastically lighten even the heaviest of loads.” —Rosalynn Carter “Trust me: there is no better guide to caregiving.” —Bill Moyers Gail Sheehy, author of the groundbreaking Passages—which was a New York Times bestseller for more than three years—now brings us Passages in Caregiving. In this essential guide, the acclaimed expert on the now aging Baby Boomer generation outlines nine crucial steps for effective, successful family caregiving, turning chaos into confidence during this most crucial of life stages.

Family caregiving has its challenges: emotional overload, time constraints, anxiety, burnout, missed work, adult sibling conflicts, and marital issues.AARP Meditations for Caregivers blends emotional and spiritual motivation to minimize the strains while helping caregivers view their work as a mission from the heart. Chapters are organized by theme, including topics such as accepting your feelings, knowing your limits, seeking support, and managing stress. Each reading offers a poignant meditation, an anecdote drawn from the author's personal or clinical experience, and hands-on or psychological advice to foster coping skills and a sense of fulfillment. The meditations in this dispensable book will provide you with solutions to typical caregiving challenges, offer relief and renewal through mindfulness, and inspire you to find meaning and value in the work you do.

There is no book on the market that addresses the needs of long-term caregivers regardless of the challenges faced by their loved ones. Most books focus on specific illnesses or conditions such as survivors of stroke, head or spinal injuries, dementia and Alzheimer’s, or parenting an or disabled child. Additionally, books tend to lump all caregivers into one group—those dealing with short-term illnesses, those facing end-of-life issues, and long-term care. Caring for someone who is expected to live for a relatively long period of time with an illness or condition poses specific and unique challenges for the caregiver. This book pinpoints the needs and strategies of this population. While some books focus on “surviving” long-term caregiving, It’s My Life Too demonstrates the life of the caregiver is of equal importance and that caregiving can be a rewarding and gratifying experience.

The Proactive Caregiver book will inspire caregivers surrounded by the darkness of fear, anxiety, and overwhelm with the light of acceptance and empowerment. It will encourage you to be a healthier caregiver and teach you to appreciate the role model you have become as a caregiver for your children, causing a cultural shift. This book is for caregivers of all ages, with loved ones living with Dementia or suspecting behavioral changes. Jessica shares her journey of caring for her mother, who lives with mixed Dementia, including FTD coupled with Bipolar Manic Depression Disorder. Behind their denial and avoidance, the Spirit waited patiently to begin transforming both of them. Throughout Jessica’s transformation, she discovered the reactive pitfalls many caregivers experience. With Spiritual guidance, Jessica’s transformation resulted in becoming The Proactive Caregiver. You, too, can learn to be proactive rather than reactive as you join her on this journey. Stop reacting to life and start creating a better quality of life while living guilt-free and shame-free. The Proactive Caregiver book will inform, educate, and encourage you to embrace the emotional challenges by allowing personal growth to transform and enrich your life. When your loved ones begin to lose time and memories or become combative, you must be prepared to step into their world with non-threatening and graceful manners. Your relationship with your loved one may prevent this from happening. So what do we do? How do we begin to dig into our lives to promote positive change and become healthier caregivers throughout the process? Jessica wasted so much energy trying to be strong for the family by hiding pain and suffering, which inevitably made her sick and depressed. Find out how to listen to the gentle whispers of guidance and become a Proactive Caregiver too.

Aaron and Stella Alterra had been married for more than sixty years when Aaron began to notice puzzling lapses in his wife's memory. Innocuous at first, they became more severe and more alarming. After a series of appointments and tests, the Alterras were informed that Stella was one of the more than 4.5 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease. Combining medical research on the disease and often-painful anecdotes of memory loss, deteriorating motor functions, personality shifts, support-group and daycare experiences, and drug trials, Alterra chronicles his transformation from husband to caregiver after his wife's diagnosis. More than a chronology of one family's experience of Alzheimer's disease, The Caregiver is an intelligent, beautifully reflective testimony to how family members turned caregivers become the ultimate advocates for their loved ones in the face of a disease with no cure.