When one of our parents needs care, the relationship that we have known all of our lives turns upside-down. Suddenly we are responsible for the woman who read us bedtime stories, or for the man who walked us to school.
Caring for an aging parent involves more than finding a care facility or dealing with legal and financial matters. It means feeling the frustration of always being "on call" if you live close by, or feeling helpless and guilty because you live far away and can do relatively little. It means riding the emotional roller coaster of having your roles reversed. It's about the pain of being unable to change the inevitable, but of having an inner compulsion to do what you can to make those final weeks or years as gentle as possible. It's about continuing to love, in spite of everything, until the very end...and beyond.
Precious Days & Practical Love will help children of aging parents make the final months or years among the best experiences they'll have to remember. and it will help counsellors understand the joys and challenges families may face.
--- from the publisher |
