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Summary: When you plan you have choices
Review: This is a book based on the principles of good planning and that it is better to be proactive than reactive. "When I plan, I have choices," the author states. And she gives the reader voluminous choices. This is a book filled with forms and action steps, low-cost and free resources and explanatory narrative. It will get you to where you need to be to be an effective care planner and caregiver. Topics include where to start, how to tell when your elder needs help, emergency preparedness, financial and legal matters, housing, long-distance caregiving, transportation, medical concerns, death and dying, and resources. This is a highly accessible and well thought-out workbook. For example, the author has taken the highly complex issue of "Money Matters" and divided it into workable plans. The first deals with the business side of cargiving and lists the things you need to calculate expenses; part two helps you to figure out if you can afford elder care; and the third describes who pays for what. The fourth plan is asking for help with time and money, listing the kinds of resources you might need help with (home maintenance, cooking, exercise, heavy lifting). The chapter then goes on to plans for helping your loved one plan for financial fitness, with workbook forms for determining his or her current financial state (medical costs, income, expenses, insurance policies, travel costs, and financial advisors). With this material laid out so clearly, the tasks of caregiving do not feel so foreboding. This book takes the fear out of the unknown and makes caregiving manageable from the start. The "Documents Locator" at the end -- the whole list of legal, personal, medical documents you might need -- is worth the price of admission alone.
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Summary: Tops my list of recommended books for physicians
Review: This is a terrific book full of good advice and practical suggestions. All the physicians and other health care professionals who attend my workshops on patient communications throughout the nation, have Joy Loverdes's book at the top of their recommended reading list. This is the most thorough and complete resource on the topic of eldercare that I have found. It should be kept handy on a nearby shelf for ready reference over the years! Joanne Desmond President Desmond Medical Communications and Author of "Communicating With Today's Patient; Essentials to Save Time, Decrease Risk and Increase Patient Compliance" Jossy-Bass, a Wiley Company, September 2000
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Summary: Pain Reliever
Review: This is the most important book I've read in the past five years. My life is totally different since my dad died and we ended up taking care of our mom. I purchased 12 copies of this book, so far. I gave this book to my sister and brothers and my friends. I can't say enough about how planning is everything.
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Summary: Get pointed in the right direction
Review: This road map provides an effective tool for guiding family members through their caregiving journeys. It is more of a workbook than a reading book that clearly outlines simple objectives to help caregivers meet their diverse concerns. Covered areas include planning and preparing, money, legal and insurance matters, health tips, quality of life issues and death and dying. An Action Checklist concludes each chapter and an extensive Organizations Index in included. This book, which was written by a professional eldercare consultant, is most beneficial for family caregivers needing a starting point and a point in the right direction. Personal Matches. Better Living. www.personamatch.com.
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Summary: No more going it alone
Review: Until I got Joy's book, I was taking care of my mom without any help from anyone. Now I know from the resources that are in this book that there is plenty of help available and some of the helpers who came to the house were free. Now I know where to look for help for me and my mom because this book gave me that information. I would be lost without this book and I highly recommend it.
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Summary: talking to my mom
Review: Until I read this book I was having a lot of problems convincing Mom to move. Joy's talking tips worked. Mom and I stopped arguing and started to talk with each other. I love this book and highly recommend it.
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Summary: Aging people, in turn, present us with many gifts.
Review: What makes a person good at getting old? Perhaps the answer lies between the lines of several small-town newspaper articles I came across in my travels. One story described a 73-year old man from Iowa who completed a 240-mile trip on a riding lawn mower to visit his 80-year old brother in Wisconsin. He couldn't see well enough to get a driver's license but this didn't prevent him from being with his brother. Another favorite story told of a 100-year old woman who divorced her 105-year old husband because she said he was treating her badly and she did not want to live unhappily for the rest of her life. The tales of these elderly people remind me of what the role of family caregiver is really about: to support the independence of our elders for as long as possible. Everyone, including the very old and the sick, has the right to decide how to live and how to die. To accept this aspect of eldercare is very difficult, especially when we do not agree or understand the choic! es that our aging family members make for themselves. As a result, we experience simultaneous feelings of sadness, anger, guilt, love, and helplessness. The caregiving journey leads us through unfamiliar territory and requires that we learn an entirely new set of rules and roles. We will grapple with questions like -- who makes the decisions and who pays for what? For those of us who are assisting aging parents, the popular perception that at some point we become our parents' parents (commonly termed role reversal), is not true. The elderly sometimes require the kind of care and assistance typically associated with children and, at times, we may feel as though we are our parents' parents, but to treat them as such is demeaning. The common goal of family members is to become mutually responsible partners. "Partnering" with our parents is the more appropriate term when used in association with eldercare. My approach to family caregiving is based on the principles ! of planning and is the secret to my effectiveness in this r! ole. I have learned that it is better to be proactive than reactive. When I plan, I have choices; when I react my choices are limited and costly emotionally, financially and otherwise. Remember, perfect planning does not exist, however, any effort you invest in making plans with your aging relatives will have a considerable impact on the quality of your life and that of the entire family. Aging people, in turn, present us with many gifts; the opportunity to benefit from their inherent wisdom and the privilege of assisting them in their final days. My mission is to protect and honor one of our nation's greatest resources -- the elderly. I hope that you, too, find your caregiving experience rewarding and that THE COMPLETE ELDERCARE PLANNER sheds genuine light on the subject and makes your journey easier along the way. Joy Loverde, Author, Eldercare Consultant
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Summary: Not the Best
Review: While this book helped in a few areas, I felt that it could have been better and more useful. I needed some suggestions and this book failed to give me the information that I needed. If you would really like a good book for this subject, I found that How to Care for Aging Parents by Virginia Morris was extremely resourceful and helpful.
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Summary: a fast and accurate resource
Review: With everything else that I already have on my plate (husband, kids, job and elderly parents), I don't have any extra time to sit down and read books - especially when I am only interested in finding answers to my eldercare situation. And that's exactly what I found with this book - fast, easy to understand, precise answers for my particular situation. I went to the bookstores and looked over the other eldercare books but they were too long and involved - some including stories that I could not relate to. I just wanted to know what to do for my family eldercare problems and I didn't want to have to read a thick book. I'm happy I chose this book over the other ones and I highly recommend it to every family.
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