When It Happens: A Caregiver's Guide to Diarrhea and Vomiting Cleanup at Home

by William Trowbridge

When It Happens A Caregiver's Guide to Diarrhea and Vomiting Cleanup at Home

The first time it happens, most caregivers freeze. The mess is overwhelming. Your loved one is embarrassed. You're exhausted, unsure where to start, and there's no calm voice telling you what to do first. This book is that voice.

Written from real hands-on experience, When It Happens is a practical crisis-response guide for one of the most difficult and rarely discussed realities of home sudden diarrhea or vomiting events. It focuses on what to do after an accident has already occurred—how to contain the spread, protect health, preserve dignity, and restore calm quickly and safely.

Inside, you'll

A clear "First 60 Seconds" protocol to stop panic and prevent contaminationStep-by-step cleanup methods for beds, bathrooms, carpets, furniture, and clothingGuidance on protecting yourself from illness while caring for your loved oneA simple "go-bag" system so you're never scrambling for supplies at 2 a.m.Emotional reassurance and grounding techniques for when your nervous system freezes under stressQuick-reference checklists you can use in the middle of a real crisis, not just in theoryThis is not a medical book and it does not attempt to diagnose or treat illness. It is about action—what to grab, where to start, and how to move through a messy, emotionally charged situation with clarity, efficiency, and compassion. It is about protecting your loved one's dignity while also protecting your own health and sanity.

Part of the Inner Balance Health Collection, this guide was created for caregivers who are doing difficult, unseen work and deserve practical tools, not judgment or theory. Whether you're preparing in advance or reading this in the middle of the night with a crisis already unfolding, you are not alone—and you are capable of handling this.

119 pages, Paperback

Published January 10, 2026

About the author

William Trowbridge holds a B.A. in Philosophy and an M. A. in English from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Ph.D. in English from Vanderbilt University. In April, 2012, he was appointed to a two-year term as Poet Laureate of Missouri.

His poetry publications include six full collections: Put This On, Please (Red Hen Press, 2014), Ship of Fool (Red Hen Press, 2011), The Complete Book of Kong (Southeast Missouri State University Press, 2003), Flickers, O Paradise, and Enter Dark Stranger (University of Arkansas Press, 2000, 1995, 1989). He has also published three chapbooks, The Packing House Cantata (Camber Press, 2006), The Four Seasons (Red Dragonfly Press, 2001), and The Book of Kong (Iowa State University Press, 1986).

His poems have appeared in more than 30 anthologies and textbooks, as well as in such periodicals as Poetry, The Gettysburg Review, Crazyhorse, The Georgia Review, Boulevard, The Southern Review, Columbia, Colorado Review, The Iowa Review, Prairie Schooner, Epoch, and New Letters. He has given readings and workshops at schools, colleges, bookstores, and literary conferences throughout the United States. His awards include an Academy of American Poets Prize, a Pushcart Prize, a Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference scholarship, a Camber Press Poetry Chapbook Award, and fellowships from The MacDowell Colony, Ragdale, Yaddo, and The Anderson Center.

He is a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at Northwest Missouri State University, where he was an editor of The Laurel Review/GreenTower Press from 1986 to 2004. Now living in Lee’s Summit, MO, he teaches in the University of Nebraska low-residency MFA in writing program.