Books
What Can I Do?
A guide for family and friends of caregivers.
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PB's Press announces publication of What Can I Do? A Guide for Family and Friends of Caregivers. The new book focuses attention on a different and powerful group in the burgeoning field of caregiving: the friends and family members of those who provide crucial care for ill, injured or elderly loved ones.
According to the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, 1 in 5 Americans will become caregivers this year and will serve up more than $350 billion in unpaid services. What Can I Do? shows friends and family of caregivers how to help this selfless, and often beleaguered, group keep their lives on track, their finances in order, their health from slipping and their spirits up while caring for others. Chapters on organization, communication, humor and grief are written with warmth in layman's terms and peppered with real-life examples.
"Once you go through the caregiving process yourself, you have a bulk of information you may never use again, that may be useful to others," says Bethune.
"There develops a secret code, a language, between caregivers. Barbara and I speak that language." She and Sweeney share what they learned the hard way.
With regard to other current caregiving books, Bethune continues, "Much of what's out there is well-intended, but hard to apply to the fast-paced changes in a caregiver's life. In the trenches you need the bottom line. This book is your bottom line."
What Can I Do? is a user-friendly guide on how to tailor a support system for the caregivers we can't live without. It is available in paperback now at www.whatcanido.me and on Amazon.com.
Author Patricia Bethune is an actress (Mad Men, Trueblood), writer, experienced caregiver and caregiver advocate. She is the spokesperson for the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI), which shares evidence-based caregiving knowledge and practices to caregiving agencies and organizations across the country. Bethune produced a public service announcement for the RCI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBFDtuPDO_8) to bring attention to the needs of caregivers. The Patricia Bethune Caring for Caregivers Facebook page invites people to share insights on how they help their friends and family members who are caregivers.
www.patriciabethune.com
www.patriciabethunecaringforcaregivers.com
Writer and caregiver advocate Barbara Sweeney is an award-winning commercial copywriter, published poet and author of Turning the Planets Around, a memoir documenting her ongoing journey as caregiver to her paraplegic friend.
To purchase the book go to www.whatcanido.me or www.amazon.com
Amazon Reviews:
"A must read for family caregivers and those who want to help"
This brief, no-nonsense book is a valuable resource for caregivers struggling with caring for another yet fearing relinquishing control or asking for help. It spells out in an honest, forthright way the ways that friends and family can provide assistance in small, yet very meaningful ways to take some of the burden off the caregiver. As a professional caregiver who also has been thrust unexpectedly into the family caregiving role, I know that the healthiest way to care for another is to care for myself first. But it is so hard to practice what I preach...this book gives friends and family who are watching a caregiver struggle real, practical suggestions for how to help without being intrusive or overbearing. Thank you Patricia and Barbara!!!
Laura Bauer Granberry, Director of National Initiatives
Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving
"Essential"
This book is a must read for everyone. I had no idea of the staggering statistics regarding caregivers in this country. This gem of a book opened my eyes to an issue that will at some point affect everyone. Buy this book today!
Lorraine Fadden "LFad" - Los Angeles, CA, USA
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