I appreciate when caregiving and self-care authors share their books with me. This post continues a seasonal blog series where I will feature a collection of caregiving and/or self-care books. This latest bundle of six books provides a variety of different genres for your holiday wishlist.
As a bonus, I also share one of my latest favorite ‘Just for Fun’ reads. What could be better than curling up with a cozy blanket and a new adventure?
Allison’s Gambit by C.A. Price
Ideal Reader: Allison’s Gambit is for contemporary fiction readers and dementia caregivers who fear a future dementia diagnosis for themselves.
Description: After caring for mom, Allison vowed that dementia would never be a part of her future. Her solution? She starts smoking (even though her father died of COPD) and tries to convince her family and friends to see the logic of this approach.
What You’ll Learn
- Compassion for both dementia victims and the families impacted by this disease.
- Self-discovery around the taboo topics – our preferences around dying and what constitutes a quality life and a good death.
Also Noteworthy
- Price’s inspiration for this book came from a patient who shared “I recently buried my mother who I took care of for six years with Alzheimer’s dementia. I never want to live like that. I never want to ask someone to care for me like that. So I’m going to smoke so I die of something else…before I lose my mind.”
The Empowered Caregiver: Practical Advice and Emotional Support for Adult Children of Aging Parents by Linda Fodrini-Johnson
Ideal Reader: Any adult child caring for an aging parent who is looking for a practical, less than a 200-page guide, to address common caregiving concerns.
Description: Linda’s intention for The Empowered Caregiver readers is to have a pocket support guide with practical strategies and solutions for caring for your aging parents which will reduce frame your thinking, manage difficult situations, and reduce stress.
- Pragmatic strategies and tips around common caregiving topics like: encountering resistance, communicating with physicians, identifying a parent’s anger and depression, making home care work, dealing with caregiver guilt, and making end-of-life decisions.
- New terminology that comes with caregiving. There is a glossary of 20 common terms in the back of the book.
- Why you are awesome! Caregiver affirmations are provided after each of the thirty-six short chapters such as “Safety first gives me peace of mind” or “I am entitled to respect. I respect others.”
Also Noteworthy
- Linda Fodrini-Johnson has been practicing as a Geriatric Care Manager/Aging Life Care Expert since 1984. She is licensed by the State of California as a Marriage & Family Therapist and is Certified as a Care Manager. Linda’s career path was inspired by watching her parents manage care for their aging parents.
- Linda also cared for her mother with vascular dementia and two brothers with complicated multiple diagnoses.
Already Toast: Caregiving and Burnout in America
Ideal Reader: Spousal caregivers and anyone who is interested in caregiver advocacy and reform.
Description: Already Toast is a memoir about author Kate’s sandwich generation experience, a tribute to caregivers in classic literature, and fresh research about the cultural and societal US caregiving issues- which continue to explode while little change is happening. It’s clear Kate was transformed by her caregiving experiences and believes in the power of the pen to influence change.
- What caregiver burnout looks and feels like for a full-time spousal caregiver who has young children and dreams that are put on hold.
- Examples around processing and claiming the negative emotions around caregiving.
- Ideas for how the US can better support family caregivers.
Also Noteworthy
- Kate Washington was recently in the caregiver spotlight on the Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast. Listen in as Elizabeth and Kate essentially have their own private book club about Already Toast.
My Mother Has Alzheimer’s and My Dog Has Tapeworms: A Caregiver’s Tale by R. Lynn Barnett
Ideal Reader: Dementia caregivers who choose to deal with life’s trials with humor and heart.
Description: My Mother Has Alzheimer’s… organizes anecdotes and steps in “ABC” order to try and give some order to what can be a chaotic situation. Here are a few excerpts:
H is for Hang On, especially when the Alzheimer’s patient unpacks her closet and uses hangers as a weapon. Even if you as a caregiver want to go to an airplane hangar and find a plan, just hang on. When people ask me these days how I’m doing, I often say that I’m hanging in there.
L is for Late at 88. I told my mother that her 88-year-old friend, who was coming over for a visit, was a little late. She said, “Maybe she’s pregnant.”
P Is for Pole Dancing and Lap Dancing. My mother would grab a pole in the shower, to steady herself. sometimes she would just hold it and adjust her body from side to side. I thought it gave a whole new take on pole dancing. Once, after this “dance,” she dried herself off (with help), sat down on her bed, and envisioned a baby dancing on her lap. This was after watching a “dancing baby” on TV. So, I guess she had lap dancing and pole dancing down flat.
What You’ll Learn
- Advice and personal stories at varying lengths that a caring friend is passing on to affirm and help you.
- Examples to prompt you to seek humor in your caregiving situation.
Also Noteworthy
- This book is 99% about how this family coped with mom’s Alzheimer’s. The vet gave them medicine for the dog and she got better.
Gratitude Journal For Women: 52 Weeks of Practicing To Be Grateful And Leading a Fulfilling Life by Elizabeth Crowley
Ideal Reader: This Gratitude Journal would make a great gift for a current journaler or a faith-based caregiver who is drowning in the day-to-day demands of caregiving.
Description: A workbook to help instill a regular gratitude practice and realize the benefits of doing so.
What You’ll Learn
- How to make gratitude a daily practice.
- How to turn down the negativity and turn up the positivity in your life.
Also Noteworthy
- Each week begins with an inspiring quote and the author’s words about it. Followed by space to identify 3 things you are grateful for each day.
- At less than $10 this book is very affordable.
- Videos showing what the inside of the journal looks like are available here.
The Space In Between: An Empath’s Field Guide by Signe Myers Hovem
Ideal Reader: This book will appeal to those who either want to go deep in the topic of empathy or have been labeled as an empath or highly sensitive person and want to better understand themselves. This book could be considered a teaching memoir and may help someone who is struggling to cope with stress and negativity in these challenging times.
Description: The Space In Between is a road map to cultivating both self-awareness and connectivity with the greater world.
What You’ll Learn
- To appreciate the abilities of an empath and identify your empathic nature.
- How to become an engaged and functional empath who has a deep understanding of their sensitivities.
- How the five different landscapes and fields of consciousness provided the author with insight and movement as she traveled on her path of self-discovery.
Also Noteworthy
- Each chapter ends with ‘Questions for Reflection’ which asks the reader to reflect on everything from our childhood to our current relationships and spiritual beliefs.
- Signe Myers Hovem volunteered in a hospice in Texas and an orphanage in Azerbaijan, worked as a spiritual counselor in Houston Texas, and taught workshops in the art of being an empath.
Just for Fun
Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner is a captivating piece of historical fiction enmeshed with thriller elements that would make a great gift or be a solid addition to your holiday wishlist. The narration jumps between the 18th century and the present. The setting is London, England. You’ll unravel the story of Nella, a female apothecary in London in the late 18th century who gives poisons to women to save them from the clutches of arrogant betraying men. The author also weaves in the story of Caroline, who is a married historian living in the present day. The cover of the book is gorgeous and the audio version is well done.
If you want even more reading recommendations, check out this prior book haul post and/or Elizabeth’s bookshelves on Goodreads. Happy reading!
