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An Uncertain Inheritance: Writers on Caring for Family
Thirty million people today care for ailing family members in their own homes--a number that will increase dramatically over the next decade as baby boomers enter old age, as soldiers return home from war mentally and physically wounded, as medical advances extend lives and health insurance fails to cover them.
Offering both companionship and guidance to the people who f
...morePaperback, 282 pages
Published
December 1st 2008
by Harper Perennial
(first published 2007)
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An amazing collection of essays by writers who cared for family members during illness. Helen Schulman -- My father the garbage head. A woman whose father deteriorates slowly >20 yrs
Sam Lipsyte -- The gift. A young man, former junkie, caring for his mother dying of cancer. "I don't remember all the bus rides, the cab rides, the hospital visits, the home chores and duties. Sometimes it all looms symbolically in my mind as a mighty ziggurat of Ensure cans. "We watched a lot of t...more
Sam Lipsyte -- The gift. A young man, former junkie, caring for his mother dying of cancer. "I don't remember all the bus rides, the cab rides, the hospital visits, the home chores and duties. Sometimes it all looms symbolically in my mind as a mighty ziggurat of Ensure cans. "We watched a lot of t...more
As a longtime caregiver, I read this book hoping to find some comfort, but, I found the book a very disturbing reminder of much that I have already put behind me. Still, the writing is all vivid and some of it is searingly honest, and, all in all, I'm glad I read it. It's unsettling, though, definitely.
I liked the variety, ranging from care-givers to those receiving care, from family to friends to others, as well as the variety of styles of writing. Much of the book was painful to read, yet this is the reality of the subject. Perhaps the book tilted a bit much to the most difficult situations.
Thoroughly sad (and seriously NOT for those who easily turn to contemplating their own mortality), but otherwise an excellent collection of essays on the grief, futility, and unceasing work of caregiving and living through a loved one's pain.
This book is depressing, but it is supposed to be. It is compilation of short stories written by people who are required to care for loved ones who are aging and deteriorating, or suffering from a disability of some sort. If you are not currently caring for a loved one, this book is a picture into your future. It made me wonder how I will cope with the responsibility.
I am hopping around these essays/stories...
These essays bear witness to the emotional cost of caring for someone who is ill, of losing someone; of making a different life as a result of a husband's degenerative disease, a wife's battle with cancer, a mother's struggle with Alzheimer's, a child's sudden death. Some of the stories are poignant; some are hopeful (not every story has a sad ending); some are heartbreaking. Certainly not a light read.
Opend my eyes to the truth of actually having to constantly subject or avoid someone who is dying or needs immediate care. It made me realize the psychological demands being cared for have. I highly enjoyed the compilation from so many different perspectives. There were many aspects that crossed over from story to story. These stories were very sobering to the reality and truth of dying.
Each of the essays brought up different aspect of giving or receiving care. "Planet Autism" made me think the most of any of the stories.
This book is not an easy read, but at some time most of us will either be a caregiver or need someone's care, so it is a timely topic that deserves attention.
This book is not an easy read, but at some time most of us will either be a caregiver or need someone's care, so it is a timely topic that deserves attention.
Collection of short stories about being a caregiver-- mother/child, spouse/spouse, child/parent, etc. Some were better than others, but nothing great.
heart wrenching true life experiences written by writers who have been caregivers to loved ones. All the stories are different and the experiences are very personal. This book can help someone faced with illness or loss.
Michele
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in care
Shelves:
memoirs,
nonfiction
some absolutely amazing heart-breaking stories including one by a korean-american guy caring for his father in florida. and an absolutely hilarious story by a lawyer/writer in new york about her mother.
Great book. Essays about caregiving in different situations. Read the library copy but liked it so well I bought a used copy from Amazon
Case histories of people dealing with loved ones who are dying and how they cared for them up until the end.
This is a collection of stories about caregiving. It was a surprisingly engrossing read.
This is an absolutely amazing book.
give of yourself
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