How to Care for Aging Parents [Paperback]

Virginia Morris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1996

How do you find a nursing home? And can you pay for it? Are you eligible for any financial help from the government? How do you find a good doctor? What is the power of attorney and when do you need it? How do you avoid becoming your parent's "parent"?

Virginia Morris, a health-care journalist who cared for her own father through a terminal illness, has taken a tough subject and turned it into a smart, compassionate, timely book for everyone with aging parents. It's all here-the emotional, medical, financial, and legal issues.

She covers what is normal in old age and what is not, and how to avoid "ageism"-the attitude (prevalent even among doctors) that infirmities of the elderly are just part of getting old. She shows how to redefine your relationship with your parent, leaven it with humor, and temper it with reduced expectations. How to make a parent's world easier to see, easier to hear, easier to get around in. How to cope with incontinence and other physical disorders. What to expect of a parent with dementia or Alzheimer's, and what to do about it. How to provide home care-everything from putting together an easy-to-dress wardrobe to installing grab bars and reflective tape. And how to get professional help, from cleaning services to meals-on-wheels to full-time skilled nursing. Winner, Books for a Better Life Award and a selection of the Rodale Book Club Featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, CNN, CBS and other national programs. Over 123,000 copies in print.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This guide, aimed at the "Sandwich Generation," provides a road map to assist adult children in caring for their aging parents. Combining personal experience with expertise in healthcare and social and political issues, Morris has produced a thoroughly researched, well-organized, and comprehensive manual. Chapters follow in logical progression, yet they can stand alone and be read on an "as-needed" basis. The topics covered include the concrete, practical areas such as home care, finances, nursing homes/hospitals, legal issues, and medical/safety concerns as well as the psychosocial areas of handling emotions, dealing with death and dying, sibling conflicts, and spiritual needs. In her discussions, Morris adds useful details such as a suggested list of things to pack for the hospital. Support for the caregiver as well as to the elderly person is covered. Sprinkled throughout the text are agencies, phone numbers, and other reference information. A good companion to Helen Susik's Hiring Home Caregivers (LJ 5/1/95), this comprehensive resource is a great bargain. Recommended for public libraries.
Linda D. Malone, Walter Reed Hospice, Gloucester, Va.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover

This is a tremendous work.truly excellent. It will be a great help to many people. Ronald Miller, M.D.

Medical Director, Geriatric Assessment Center

Yale-New Haven Hospital

"HOW TO CARE FOR AGING PARENTS is well-researched and comprehensive.a practical resource.that can be of enormous assistance to contemporary older persons as well as to Baby Boomers and the generations that follow."

From the Foreword by Robert N. Butler, M.D.

Founder, National Institute on Aging

Compassionate, timely, thorough, and thoroughly researched, HOW TO CARE FOR AGING PARENTS tackles all the tough subjects: from how to avoid becoming your parent's "parent," to understanding what happens to the body in old age, to getting help finding a nursing home - to preparing for the time to say good-bye. When love is not enough, it's an indispensable source of information and support. Includes a complete yellow pages of resource,

HELP FOR EVERY DIFFICULT DECISION

-FINDING GOOD MEDICAL CARE

-DEALING WITH GUILT

-HOME CARE VS. A NURSING HOME

-REDEFINING PARENT/CHILD ROLES

-KNOWING WHEN TO INTERVENE

-SIBLING CONFLICTS

-GETTING POWER OF ATTORNEY

-COPING WITH DEMENTIA

-CARE FOR THE CAREGIVER

-THE HOSPICE OPTION

-LOCATING COMMUNITY SERVICES

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 460 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; later printing edition (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563054353
• ISBN-13: 978-1563054358
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #391,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Health

More About the Author

An award-winning journalist, Virginia Morris has devoted her career to researching and writing about health care, medical research and related social and political issues for the last 25 years. She is the author of How to Care for Aging Parents, which won the Books for a Better Life Award and instantly became the best-selling book on the subject when it was first released in 1986. An updated and expanded edition was published in 2004. She is also the author of Talking About Death, which came out in paperback in 2004. Virginia has been featured on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The CBS Morning Show, Primetime, NPR, CNN, and a host of other national media. She also appeared before Congress, testifying before the bicameral Joint Economic Committee in 2007. She now lectures around the country on both subjects. She lives with her husband and two children in the New York area.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Info on all aspects of the elderly immediately!, January 22, 2000

By 

Pam Tulman - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Care for Aging Parents (Paperback)

The most amazing book I have ever borrowed from a friend to read. It is a most important book to have especially if you are "caring" for an elderly parent (in this case, my 93 year old father)and living many miles away (in my case, 3,000 miles). It is so easy to navigate and it is difinitely written for the layman--it gets right to the point and avoids the reader having to read on and on to get an answer. Very important facts in each chapter are highlighted in gray boxes. Thank you, Ms. Morris, for this great compilation on eldercare.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, something I can really use!, April 6, 2000

By 

Sally J. Nottage "nottagecottage" (Eugene, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Care for Aging Parents (Paperback)

Caring for my father and now my mother, this book saved me emotionally.I just don't know what I would have done without it. Open at any point and is easily understandable, a real tool with real solutions. Desperate friend calls it her Bible. Easily read,perfectly organized, concise, not cluttered where you have to dig for answers. It has everything, not just medical aspects. I can't say enough other than please just try it.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended and very helpful, September 19, 2000

By 

Cathleen M. Walker "geminiwalker" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: How to Care for Aging Parents (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book, and will be helpful for anyone facing the inevitable issue of parents or other relatives growing older and needing care of any kind. Easy to read through, as I have just done, it is also a wonderful resource to pull off the shelf as these issues manifest, from talking to your parents about what needs to be discussed as soon as possible, to knowing when to intervene and when to get out of the way, what questions to ask whom, and what to expect. Information about contacts and agencies is liberally sprinkled throughout the book, and a helpful index at the back helps you to find whatever you need at a moment's notice. An initial read-through makes you familiar with what the book has to offer, making it more familiar as the needs arise. Highly recommended.