The Caregiver's Companion: Caring for Your Loved One Medically, Financially and Emotionally While Caring for Yourself

by Carolyn A. Brent

Everything you need to know to ensure that your elderly loved one is being properly cared for.

People today are not only living longer, they are also living sicker—making aging and caring for elderly loved ones more complicated than ever before. In this extensive guide, caregiver advocate Carolyn Brent outlines a step-by-step process so caregivers know what to do and what to ask in every situation that may arise, including:

• Signs that your loved one needs more assistance

• What to look for in a retirement home

• Caretaking in your own home

• How to ensure wills are in order

• How to manage difficult family relationships

• Ensuring you are getting the help and care you need

Brent leaves no stone unturned, provides personal stories and scenarios for context, and includes other references and resources in this complete guide to caregiving.

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 27, 2015

Reviews

[Carolyn A. Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Library Journal

Reviewed on FEBRUARY 1, 2015 | Self-Help

Not limited to addressing the needs of Alzheimer's patients, this compact manual from Brent, founder of Caregiver Story and Grandpa's Dream, two nonprofit organizations geared toward providing comprehensive support for caregivers, walks readers through the crucial issues of moving their aging loved ones into an assisted-living facility as well as discussing emotional, medical, legal, and financial issues with them. Checklists are provided for gathering important information. A particularly helpful chapter delves into the frequent dilemma of dealing with the loved one's resistance to even talking about these issues. VERDICT An excellent, comprehensive guide to everything both new and seasoned caregivers need to know.

http://www.bookverdict.com/details.xq...

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful, well-presented information. While I wish I had read it sooner, it still offered valuable information and reinforcement.

[☼Bookish in Virginia☼]

I was actually expecting this book to be on the technical side with some sound legal and medical advice.

It wasn't that. At all.

What it was isn't easy to describe. A good portion of the book was the author's relating her experiences with the care-and-keeping of her beloved father. And there is definitely value in this story because it's going to allow many people to 'grasp' the concepts that she has set aside as checklists and things to think about.

She made many mistakes, and I definitely think people can learn from that.

OtherAdult and I have been handling the care of my MIL for over a decade and I can say that I think some of the author's advice could have been more conservative. Principally I don't believe that most households can help a person with dementia. Period. End of story. There is a brief bit of time in which a person can be brought into the home but it is extremely brief. And fortunately we figured that out and didn't have to come home to an oven on fire (because someone wandered off and forgot about what they were cooking), nor the dreaded 'where are they?' question when the person has walked off and can't find their way home.

So, I didn't care for that part of the author's advice. Nor did I think it was very sound to constantly be asking the patient what they thought ought to be done. Polite, yes. But someone with 'full-blown' dementia can not be relied upon to judge how good a facility is. It might be nice not to have to worry about that problem, but it's neglect to avoid the responsibility by foisting the judgement off on someone who isn't capable of it anymore.


And while I don't agree with everything in this book I won't diss the book nor the author because she provides a huge service for those just beginning to wonder about the future. This book brings up many if not most of the things you ought to be aware of. It talks about issues and relates them to the author's experiences, and then it reiterates the ideas by summing them up into lists.

I would use this book though as a springboard to do more in-depth reading, and as a segue to talking with anyone else who is going to share the responsibility with you. But don't take the advice in this book as gospel because every situation is different. Do though look at the mistakes the author shares and realize that you can avoid those and save yourself heartache, money, and time.

[BMR, LCSW · Rating 3 out of 5]

NOTE: I won this from a Goodreads Giveaway.

The checklists included at the end of each chapter are great for anyone who is worried about forgetting what questions to ask. Caregiving is overwhelming under the best of circumstances, and if there are complex family dynamics and conflicts at play it is like being run over by a bus repeatedly and without warning.

Why only 3 stars? I was excited to read this book and very disappointed when I did. I thought the book was lacking, in that Carolyn Brent seemed to be presenting only 2 options for people caring for an aging parent: move the parent in with you or move the parent to a care facility.

An option for caring for the parent in the parent's home with paid caregivers was not explored properly. It will cost less than $300/day for 24 hr caregivers in the home (depending on where you live, and the needs of the patient). Unless the patient needs substantial medical care, it is always cheaper to bring care into the home than it is to move the patient into a Nursing Home.

Keeping the patient at home isn't always the best choice for a family, but it is one that should have been given a chapter in the book.

Also, how one can mention Alzheimer's repeatedly and not include the Alzheimer's Association in the resources at the end makes no sense at all to me. Carolyn Brent must have had her reasons, but it seems almost negligent to leave them out.

This book is a good resource for someone who needs a quick and easy reference (and a very short read, I read it in a day), but PLEASE don't make it the only book on caregiving you utilize. There are many others that are better and more comprehensive.

[HTP Books]

Categories
Self-Help, Eldercare, Health Care Issues, Aging

[Akhila Jha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for everyone. Received and giver of care. Wish I read this earlier

[Megan Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good resource for those at the very beginning of the caregiver process but not so much when you are already in the thick of it so to speak. Also, the author bases almost everything on her own experience. While she has done a lot of research, there are almost no references to other situations or to what someone else went through. Still it's very informative so far and I would definitely recommend it for someone who is at the beginning stages of dealing with a family illness.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I would have read this before my parents were in there 80's. The book gives the caregiver or care giver to be, a good idea of what is ahead and how to plan properly.