Customer Reviews

Caregiving Without Regrets: 3 Steps to Avoid Burnout and Manage Disappointment, Guilt, and Anger

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Being in charge of another adult is a tough job. "Caregiving Without Regrets: 3 Steps to Avoid Burnout and Manage Disappointment, Guilt, and Anger" is a guide for those who want to give the best care possible but are wracked with not living up to expectations. With advice on getting in the right mindset, dealing with failure, and remembering to take care of oneself when things look bad. "Caregiving Without Regrets" is a top pick for those who want to beat their own guilt and do their best.

This book gives good advice on basic caregiving - possibly more applicable for one who is caregiving for a terminally ill parent or a spouse, with whom they have a close relationship. It does not deal with the guilt and anger that can come from dealing with a live-in elderly parent with a "difficult" temperament. This book actually made me feel worse in some respects since I am trying to encourage my MIL to be more independent. Certainly, this was not the author's intention, which leads me to believe that the caregiving relationships that she describes are of a different nature than mine...either that or I am a terrible caregiver (aw, back to the guilt).

I've been a caregiver for 20 years... it's been a job with requirements that change every few months. Even with that experience, I picked up at least a dozen great tips from "Dr. Vicki's" excellent book on the art and science of effective caregiving, and caring for yourself along the way. As someone who's been on every side of the caregiving equation--patient, doctor and caregiver--Vicki Rackner brings perspective to the subject that few have. One example: "The most successful caregivers are those who spend time doing what's easy for them and join forces with others for the things that are hard." It's simple advice, but hardly common wisdom. Caregiving Without Regrets is full of such gems.