A meditation on the social political and philosophical questions of ageing, from the internationally acclaimed author of Returning to Reims

A few years ago, Didier Eribon’s mother began to lose her physical and cognitive autonomy. After several months of resistance, Eribon and his brothers were compelled to place her in a nursing home. A few short weeks later, his mother passed away.

In The Life, Old Age, and Death of a Working-Class Woman, Eribon continues the historical, political and personal reflection he began with Returning to Reims, this time turning his attention to the end of life. Tracing his mother’s rapid decline, and drawing on works by Simone de Beauvoir, Norbert Elias, Annie Ernaux and Michel Foucault, among others, Eribon transmutes his rage, sadness and the shame over her death into a strikingly nuanced portrait of the woman who raised him. Here, Eribon asks: how does our society treat the elderly? What is the place of bodies that can no longer assemble, discuss freedom or protest? Can the completely dependent speak for themselves – and if not, who can speak for them?

An honest, original and wide-ranging exploration of the relationship between ageing and class, politics and literature, this is a profound meditation on a fundamental human experience, too often overlooked.

FDA's approval of aducanumab has radically changed the world of Alzheimer's disease and you're going to need guidance regarding whether they should take it or not. This book conveys all the insight. As you age, you may find yourself worrying about your memory. Where did I put those car keys? What time was my appointment? What was her name again? With more than 41 million Americans over the age of 65 in the United States, the question becomes how much (or, perhaps, what type) of memory loss is to be expected as one gets older and what should trigger a visit to the doctor. Seven Steps to Managing Your Aging Memory addresses these key concerns and more, such as: * What are the signs that suggest your memory problems are more than just part of normal aging? * Is it normal to have concerns about your memory? * What are the markers of mild cognitive impairment, dementia, Alzheimer's, and other brain diseases? * How should you talk about your memory concerns to your doctor? * What should your doctor do to evaluate your memory? * Which healthcare professional(s) should you see? * What medicines, alternative therapies, diets, and exercises actually work to improve your memory? * Can crossword puzzles, computer brain-training games, memory aids, and strategies help strengthen your memory? * What other resources are available when dealing with memory loss? Seven Steps to Managing Your Aging Memory is written in an easy-to-read yet comprehensive style, featuring clinical vignettes and character-based stories that provide real-life examples of how to successfully manage memory loss.

Little is known about the experiences of children living in families affected by severe and enduring mental illness. This is the first in-depth study of children and young people caring for parents affected in this way. Drawing on primary research data collected from 40 families, the book presents the perspectives of children (young carers), their parents and the key professionals in contact with them. Children caring for parents with mental illness makes an invaluable contribution to the growing evidence base on parental mental illness and outcomes for children. It: * is the first research-based text to examine the experiences and needs of children caring for parents with severe mental illness; * provides the perspectives of children, parents and key professionals in contact with these families; * reviews existing medical, social, child protection and young carers literatures on parental mental illness and consequences for children; * provides a chronology and guide to relevant law and policy affecting young carers and parents with severe mental illness; * makes concrete recommendations and suggestions for improving policy and professional practice; * contributes to the growing evidence base on parental mental illness and outcomes for children and families.

Being a Good Carer is essential reading for anyone who cares for an elderly person, whether as a professional or as a loved one, in its promotion of the role dignity and respect should play. This accessible and detailed guide includes practical tips, checklists for best practice, and case studies from a wide range of carers that addresses solutions to common problems and giving expert advice on how to deliver compassionate and dignified care to older people. It is easy to read and provides anecdotal experience from carers and tips from the experts. Uniquely, Amanda Waring also provides support and guidance for the carer, on how to maintain energy and commitment, recognise the signs of compassion fatigue and where to get help if you need it. Essential reading for anyone who cares for an elderly person, whether as a professional or as a loved one, Being a Good Carer advocates for dignity and respect for all.

Surviving Family Care Giving: Co-ordinating effective care through collaborative communication is a practical book for family and other home carers in a variety of situations. Grainne Smith shows how to provide the most effective coordinated care possible through constructive communication and collaborative care, to support individuals who have long term physical and mental health problems, including conditions from Alzheimers to alchoholism, autism to anorexia, schizophrenia to multiple sclerosis.

Written from personal experience as a family carer, Grainne Smith includes interviews with other carers and service users; and draws on years of working with children and their families in tough times. Chapters such as Challenging Behaviour, Confidentiality, and Motivation illustrate some of the many problems facing carers who support vulnerable individuals. Problems include isolation, feelings of helplessness and uncertainty about what best to do, what to try to avoid and the lack of much needed relevant information and resources to support care-giving.

"Surviving Family Care Giving" vividly illustrates the daily difficulties experienced by care givers who offer long term care and support and shows how to work through them. It provides suggestions on ways to build both constructive collaborative care and good family teamwork through effective communication, and how to ensure continuing care and support for the person at the centre of all the efforts. This book will be essential reading for family and other carers, including professionals trying to create ongoing continuity of care for their patients outside of treatment and education centres."

Surviving Family Care Giving: Co-ordinating effective care through collaborative communication is a practical book for family and other home carers in a variety of situations. Grainne Smith shows how to provide the most effective coordinated care possible through constructive communication and collaborative care, to support individuals who have long term physical and mental health problems, including conditions from Alzheimers to alchoholism, autism to anorexia, schizophrenia to multiple sclerosis.

Written from personal experience as a family carer, Grainne Smith includes interviews with other carers and service users; and draws on years of working with children and their families in tough times. Chapters such as Challenging Behaviour, Confidentiality, and Motivation illustrate some of the many problems facing carers who support vulnerable individuals. Problems include isolation, feelings of helplessness and uncertainty about what best to do, what to try to avoid and the lack of much needed relevant information and resources to support care-giving.

"Surviving Family Care Giving" vividly illustrates the daily difficulties experienced by care givers who offer long term care and support and shows how to work through them. It provides suggestions on ways to build both constructive collaborative care and good family teamwork through effective communication, and how to ensure continuing care and support for the person at the centre of all the efforts. This book will be essential reading for family and other carers, including professionals trying to create ongoing continuity of care for their patients outside of treatment and education centres."

Sometimes I think that carrying - other people, the continuity of history, generational identity, the emotional load of the everyday - is the main thing that women do. In Marina Benjamin's new set of interlinked essays, she turns her astute eye to the tasks once termed 'women's work'. From cooking and cleaning to caring for an ageing relative, A Little Give depicts domestic life anew: as a site of paradox and conflict, but also of solace and profound meaning. Here, productivity sits alongside self-erasure, resentment with tenderness, and the animal self is never far away, perpetually threatening to break through. Drawing on the work of figures such as Natalia Ginzburg, Paula Rego, and Virginia Woolf, Benjamin writes with fierce candour of the struggle to overwrite the gender conditioning that pulls her back into 'the mud-world of pre-feminism' even as she attempts to haul herself out. From her upbringing as the child of immigrants with fixed traditional values, to looking after her mother and seeing her teenager move out of home, she examines her relationships with family, community, her body, and even with language itself. Ultimately, she shows that a woman's true work may lie at the heart of her humanity, in the pursuit both of transformation and of deep acceptance.

Being a caregiver is a difficult role. It requires pateince, tenderness, selflessness, and hard work. Providing care for another human being, whether a parent, loved one, or as a professional requires a level of self love and self care as well that can not be ignored. While it may be a rewarding experience to care for a loved one, it can also be a stressful, both emotionally and mentally. It is easy to get caught up in taking care of someone else that you forget to take care of yourself and your own physical and emotional well being as well. How do you navigate your role as caregiver without losing yourself? Conscious Caregiver can help readers navigate caring for their loved one, whether that means full-time in house caregiving or hiring support from outside services. With information on talking to their loved ones about their situation, how to handle the emotional stress, practical information on medical needs and finances, and how to take time away to care for themselves, Conscious Caregiver can help them care for their loved one and themselves at the same time.

Learn how to make elder housing more homelike Taking an incisive look at assisted living for the elderly, Assisted Living: Sobering Realities is an important book for the professionals who work with aging Americans and their families. This vital book provides a multidisciplinary overview of the world of assisted living for older Americans. With unique insight and a keen clinical perspective, Assisted Living examines a variety of topics: the dilemma of aging in place, the realities of end-of-life care, and the ins and outs of residential care supply. Easy-to-read graphs and charts make the data user-friendly.This book delivers current information on: the housing needs of elderly renters, with case studies of 109 residents in two facilities the need for improved housing and services for low-income elderly, providing an overview of how successful facilities take a comprehensive approach in linking low-income elders with community-based services the advantages and disadvantages of residential care facilities research about aging in place from providers and residents' perspectives the unmet needs of the elderly who qualify for housing assistance how visitation patterns affect the overall satisfaction and quality of life of assisted living residents

Clarify your thinking on an issue that can tear families apart!Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer's Disease: A Christian Perspective is the touching story of a woman's daily struggles as a caregiver to her mother who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. You'll learn how God's presence in her life has helped her. You will also find practical day-to-day tips for living with a loved one suffering from senile dementia and how your spirituality can make the journey easier for both of you. This important guide provides an honest description of the emotions you may be forced to come to terms with while dealing with a loved one or parishioner with Alzheimer's disease and how God's presence in your life can help lift that burden.Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer's Disease gives you firsthand accounts of the stages of pain, despair, acceptance, and victory that you may experience while caring for someone with Alzheimer's to let you know that what you are feeling is normal and that God will help you overcome these challenges. Alzheimer's disease often goes undetected until its later stages. This informative book renders a clear description of the disease, alerting you to the known warning signs of dementia, and preparing you for the possibility of such a diagnosis.Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer's Disease is filled with tips and suggestions to make caring for your loved one easier for both of you, such as: learning to separate the person from the disease researching the disease and keeping informed about every aspect of this progressive and irreversible neurological disorder realizing that you need emotional support and should seek help from your pastor, church care group, or best friend discovering how having power of attorney and creating a living will can prevent many problems in the future understanding that to care for your loved one at home is challenging and that taking simple steps, such as "baby-proofing" your house, will prevent traumatic disasters turning your anger and guilt to positive energy and avoiding emotional drain and strainThis unique book offers you solace amidst the turbulence of caring for someone stricken with this difficult condition. Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer's Disease provides an open and honest description of how faith can comfort and support you and your family while you care for someone with dementia.

Clarify your thinking on an issue that can tear families apart Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer s Disease: A Christian Perspective is the touching story of a woman s daily struggles as a caregiver to her mother who suffers from Alzheimer s disease. You ll learn how God s presence in her life has helped her. You will also find practical day-to-day tips for living with a loved one suffering from senile dementia and how your spirituality can make the journey easier for both of you. This important guide provides an honest description of the emotions you may be forced to come to terms with while dealing with a loved one or parishioner with Alzheimer s disease and how God s presence in your life can help lift that burden.Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer s Disease gives you firsthand accounts of the stages of pain, despair, acceptance, and victory that you may experience while caring for someone with Alzheimer s to let you know that what you are feeling is normal and that God will help you overcome these challenges. Alzheimer s disease often goes undetected until its later stages. This informative book renders a clear description of the disease, alerting you to the known warning signs of dementia, and preparing you for the possibility of such a diagnosis.Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer s Disease is filled with tips and suggestions to make caring for your loved one easier for both of you, such as: learning to separate the person from the disease researching the disease and keeping informed about every aspect of this progressive and irreversible neurological disorder realizing that you need emotional support and should seek help from your pastor, church care group, or best friend discovering how having power of attorney and creating a living will can prevent many problems in the future understanding that to care for your loved one at home is challenging and that taking simple steps, such as "baby-proofing" your house, will prevent traumatic disasters turning your anger and guilt to positive energy and avoiding emotional drain and strainThis unique book offers you solace amidst the turbulence of caring for someone stricken with this difficult condition. Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer s Disease provides an open and honest description of how faith can comfort and support you and your family while you care for someone with dementia.

As our population ages, more and more of us find ourselves caring for parents and loved ones _ some 8.8 million people in the UK. An invisible army of carers holding families together.

Here, Kate Mosse tells her personal story of finding herself as a carer in middle age: first, helping her mother look after her beloved father through Parkinson's, then supporting her mother in widowhood, and finally as 'an extra pair of hands' for her 90-year-old mother-in-law.

This is a story about the gentle heroism of our carers, about small everyday acts of tenderness, and finding joy in times of crisis. It's about juggling priorities, mind-numbing repetition, about guilt and powerlessness, about grief, and the solace of nature when we're exhausted or at a loss. It is also about celebrating older people, about learning to live differently _ and think differently about ageing.

But most of all, it's a story about love..

No Regrets: Hope for Your Caregiving Season shares Rayna Neises' personal heart-warming stories and practical suggestions for journeying through one's caregiving season. As people age, so do their loved ones. The healthy integration of caring for an aging parent requires being able to walk them all the way to the end of their life while still having a life to walk back into. No Regrets helps caregivers consider how being intentional in their season of caring will allow them to care for their loved one well while at the same time not losing themselves in the caring.

What do you do when the meals are over and the dressing has been accomplished? Those caring for a person with an illness or disability who ask themselves this question can find a wealth of answers in "Making the Moments Count." For professional, volunteer, and family caregivers, here is an invaluable guide for creating meaningful and enjoyable activities. Whatever the ages or circumstances of the people in a caregiving relationship, such shared moments can bring positive changes in the present and build memories to treasure in the future.

In "Making the Moments Count," therapeutic recreation specialist Joanne Ardolf Decker provides practical, "doable" suggestions for spending leisure time with people of all ages who need care, whether they are recovering from an illness, facing a terminal disease, or growing older and more dependent on outside help. Caregivers are obviously important in providing help with feeding, hygiene, and health care. But they are also crucially important in caring for the mind and spirit. This book will help caregivers accomplish that part of their jobs when life is most difficult--when the need for joy and meaning is greatest.

Through descriptions of individual situations, Decker shows how caregivers can focus on:

- Keeping the mind active - General body movement - Influencing self-esteem and outlook - Making plans for each day - Keeping outings simple - Hobbies, interests, and feeling useful

In addition to case examples of individual situations and lists of suggestions for appropriate leisure activities, Decker provides information about the benefits of the activities and how to adapt them to fit different abilities, interests, and age groups. Checklists are provided for recording information about the person receiving care--information about which activities were meaningful in the past, what is possible in the current situation, and how activities might be enjoyed in the future.

"Making the Moments Count" is a valuable resource for professional caregivers and volunteers, and for family and friends who provide care for a loved one, whether in the home or in an institutional setting.

Life expectancy is going up. Our parents are increasingly likely to be living into their eighties and nineties. Many find themselves in the position of caring for their parents when they are already retired themselves, or not in good health, or still have children to support financially. What can we do for the best in these situations? Do you feel your parents are a burden? Do they feel that? How do we cope with the huge costs of geriatric care? How do we manage this conflicting tangle of interests? This is a practical book that looks at the range of alternatives and provides realistic solutions. It also recognizes the negative and ambivalent feelings that plague families on all sides. Extreme old age is not easy. We need to help our parents through the difficulties they inevitably face during their final years, and balance those needs with equally pressing ones elsewhere. Dan and Lavinia Cohn-Sherbok, drawing on their own experiences, here provide a succinct overview of the problems and answers for all with elderly parents.

An indispensable, comprehensive reference for family caregivers. Caregivers hold the key to the health, well-being, and happiness of their aging relatives, partners, or friends. The Caregiver's Encyclopedia provides you with all of the information you need to take the best care of your loved one-from making major medical decisions to making sure you don't burn out. Written by Muriel R. Gillick, MD, a geriatrician with more than 30 years' experience caring for older people, this book highlights the importance of understanding your friend's or family member's overall health. With compassion and expertise, this book will help you "think like a doctor." The content * helps you navigate the health-care system * shares important information about treating basic geriatric syndromes, including delirium, dementia, and falls * teaches you about preventive care options * enables you to manage medical decisions related to both acute and chronic conditions * discusses what Medicare covers-and what it doesn't * guides you through different approaches to care * weighs the risks and benefits of hospital vs. home, nursing home, or hospice care * provides a detailed list of medical supplies that you might want to keep on hand * offers you additional resources and emotional support Throughout, Gillick provides helpful information and concrete concepts that caregivers can put into practice today. Authoritative, comprehensive, holistic, and highly illustrated, The Caregiver's Encyclopedia will help you figure out how to be the best caregiver you can be.

Cope with legal, financial, and medical issues

Minimize anxiety and stress and make the later years golden

Need help caring for an elderly loved one? This sensitive, reassuring guide provides strategies for assessing older persons’ needs, arranging for care, ensuring their safety, and enhancing quality of life – all while respecting their dignity. You’ll see how to manage physical disabilities and chronic health problems, evaluate nursing homes, and help elders control their destinies.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

'A beautiful and important book that is both deeply engaging and usefully practical. I loved it.' CATHY RENTZENBRINK 'An insightful and well-timed book ... forces us to confront the stereotypes - and prejudices - we hold.' SUNDAY TIMES 'profoundly important...full of wisdom and bright insights on what it really means to love someone, by a fearless and generous writer. ' CLOVER STROUD 'A beautiful and timely reminder that each and every one of us has the ability to care, the capacity for empathy, and the potential to grow.' ANDY PUDDICOMBE, FOUNDER OF HEADSPACE 'A wonderful book: compassionate, honest, carefully-reasoned and genuinely helpful... This will benefit many people.' KATHERINE MAY, author of WINTERING 'An invaluable tool for any invisible carers or anyone who wants to learn how to better support their loved ones... we ALL have many, many things to learn from Penny's beautiful, wise, charming, thoughtful words' SCARLETT CURTIS, Sunday Times bestselling author 'Moving and beautifully written, nuanced and wise, alert to every paradox at the heart of love. A hugely important book not only for current or future carers, but anyone learning to accept that life tends to resist our control.' OLIVIA SUDJIC, author of EXPOSURE 'Tender captures the powerful capacity of people to care for others, and all the heartbreaking and heartwarming complexity that this involves. Penny brings the crucial, yet often overlooked, role of caring into our collective consciousness and, in doing so, demonstrates what it means to be human.' -DR EMMA HEPBURN, author of A TOOLKIT FOR MODERN LIFE 'Penny Wincer's TENDER manages to combine both unromanticised honesty about the realities of care with a genuine uplifting hopefulness... is a must-read.' RUTH WHIPPMAN, author of THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS We are all likely - at some point in our lives - to face the prospect of caring for another, whether it's a parent, child or partner. It is estimated that there are 7 million people in the UK caring for loved ones. And yet these are the unpaid, unsung people whose number is rising all the time. In Tender: the imperfect art of caring, Penny Wincer combines her own experiences as a carer with the experiences of others to offer real and transformative tools and insights for navigating a situation that many of us are either facing or will face at some time. Penny Wincer has twice been a carer: first to her mother, and now as a single parent to her autistic son. Tender shows how looking after oneself is a fundamental part of caring for another, and describes the qualities that we can look to cultivate in ourselves through what may otherwise feel to be an exhausting task. Weaving her lived experience with research into resilience, perfectionism and self-compassion, Penny combines the stories of other carers alongside those who receive support - offering an often surprising and hopeful perspective. Penny hosts a podcast Not Too Busy To Write.

An indispensable guide offering insight and support to carers of people with depression Looking after a person with depression can often leave carers emotionally and physically exhausted. This short, straightforward and easily understandable guide offers valuable advice on how carers can: - better understand the nature of depression and how it affects both patient and carer - have a clearer understanding of the treatment options for the patient, including medication and therapy - lessen the impact of the illness on the carer's life - find the help and support they need - maintain their own well-being whilst supporting the patient through to recovery and beyond Although aimed at the carer, this is a guide that is equally valuable to the patient themselves and to their wider family and friends in promoting a better understanding of the experience of depression.

A caregiver's journey often contains beliefs and behaviors that act like emotional landmines and can cause serious damage. Avoiding these landmines, while finding a path to safety, requires caregivers to hear from someone with experience they can trust. Author and radio host Peter Rosenberger draws upon three decades of caring for his wife through a medical nightmare to discuss seven caregiver landmines that wreak havoc in a caregiver's life. Helping them navigate to a place of safety, 7 Caregiver Landmines: And How You Can Avoid Them equips fellow caregivers to live a healthier, calmer, and even more joyful life-because "Healthy Caregivers Make Better Caregivers!"

Primary caregivers are the most important people in the diminished life of anyone who has progressive dementia, such as Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Huntington's Chorea. Dementia in all its progressive forms has a devastating impact on caregivers and other family members. They experience guilt, stress in the extreme, exhaustion, and numerous other serious problems that affect their physical, mental, and spiritual health. This book inspires and empowers caregivers so that they can maintain their own health, happiness, and sanity in order to provide loving care for the person who is ill. With descriptions of the problems and exercises to help in finding solutions, the book covers: the needs of caregivers; communication and feelings; grief and its various phases; sharing and support; and, stress management techniques for everyone involved.

The Joyful Caregiver teaches how to be the best caregiver for a loved one in order to help fight their chronic illness. Author, speaker, teacher, and caregiver Josephine Grace uses The Graceful Process (TM) within The Joyful Caregiver to bring ease and comfort to caregivers and their loved one as they get the care and help they need to fight their chronic illness. For those who are serious about dedicating a portion of their life to the service of a family member who is facing chronic illness, The Joyful Caregiver is for them. Within its pages, caregivers learn how to: Help their loved one beat their chronic disease through clear and informative practice Communicate clearly with doctors and prevent medical errors with their care Get extra support and resources when they need them Care for themselves in the process and be guilt free Make decisions coming from love rather than fear Stay strong and give their loved one the support and care they need, no matter how hard it gets

Most people know someone who is facing a life-threatening disease or end of life decline. 'Leaning into Sharp Points' offers honest yet compassionate advice for facing those issues, right from the moment of diagnosis through the process of healing and decline to the grief and pain that comes after.

Top 10 bestseller . In 2004 Stephanie Nimmo was a career-focused, suburban mother of three, happily married to the love of her life, Andy. In December that year their fourth child was born and life as Steph knew it changed dramatically. From having to give up a successful career to care for her fragile, life-limited daughter, to learning how to cope with the challenges of her sons' autism diagnoses and the cruel blow of Andy's terminal cancer, Steph learned very early on that it's not the cards you are dealt in life but how you play them. Far from being a misery memoir, Was This In The Plan?, is a frank, open and no-holds-barred account of how a family was determined not just to survive but to thrive when the odds were against them. It will make you question your own attitude to life and how you choose to respond when unexpected events throw you off course. From a family of six to four in just over a year, losing her husband to cancer and then 14 months later, her 12-year-old daughter Daisy, following life-long illness, Stephanie writes with such powerful, raw honesty that it is impossible to not be moved and inspired by her story. Resilience is a hot topic right now and Steph is the epitome of inner strength. A regular in the press opening up the conversation about death and grief.

At some time, most families will need to provide home care for an aging family member who is ill or disabled. While home caregiving provides many benefits, it takes careful planning, support, and patience.

The American Medical Association Guide to Home Caregiving provides the information you need to take the best possible care of an elderly, ill, or disabled person in a home setting. Written by experts from the American Medical Association, the book explains such essentials as how to:

• Plan and arrange a room to adapt to a loved one’s needs
• Give medications, maintain hygiene, monitor symptoms, deal with incontinence, provide emotional support, and relieve boredom
• Choose a home healthcare provider
• Pay for home healthcare, including Medicare and Medicaid, and long-term care insurance
• Care for a person with Alzheimer’s disease or a terminal illness
• Choose between alternative living arrangements such as assisted living facilities or nursing homes
• Take care of yourself, the caregiver

With advice that touches both the physical and the emotional aspects of caregiving, this supportive, practical handbook will help make the experience as successful and rewarding as possible for you and your loved one.

For more than 150 years, the American Medical Association has been the leading group of medical experts in the nation and one of the most respected health-related organizations in the world. The AMA continues to work to advance the art and science of medicine and to be an advocate for patients and the voice of physicians in the United States.