Books For The "Invisible Army" Of Caregivers

Family caregivers, regardless of where they are on their caregiver journey, will find their role significantly less difficult with the right support and resources. Unfortunately finding support and resources is not so easy.

But imagine walking into a room and practically finding an army of care advocates ready to serve your needs across the caregiver continuum. Caring professionals that get you, have walked in your shoes, and know how to support you in various convenient ways only you can appreciate:

• You like to listen to your resources? They have podcasts (check out my first article related to this topic ).
• Prefer to read them? They have books (keep reading below).
• Are you more of a visual learner? They have vlogs and videos. Even TEDx talks.
• There are so many other different types of support and resources available as well: blogs, newsletters, film, support groups, training, technology, apps, coaches etc.

This is my second article inspired from attending The Care Colloquium , a first ever gathering of care advocates across the care economy space. Founded and led by?Kimberly Whiter, Ed.D., DSA-NC, CCA , considered the "Athena" (i.e., wisdom, bravery) of care leadership, the purpose of this event was to ignite and unite national thought leadership on caregiving.?

By the third day of this conference, attendees were enthusiastically committed to find ways to collaborate with each other and help this country's invisible army of caregivers, a term used by Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers in a tweet advocating for this unrecognized segment of our population . Invisible because we don't usually see or hear about them and they usually don't volunteer that information to anyone especially their employer or supervisor. While carrying out other responsibilities like raising children, holding down a job, running a business, and having a personal life, they are behind closed doors caring for an older adult or an adult child with a chronic illness. They are the 53 million Americans who are unpaid family caregivers .

I thought I would list for your convenience some great books from authors I met or are associated with The Care Colloquium . Care leaders I respect and will without hesitation listen to their advice. They have walked in a caregiver's shoes and/or have the right amount of empathy, compassion, experience and competence to shed some light on the caregiver journey. Guaranteed there is a book or two on this list for you:

BadAsss Advocate author Erin Galyean does an incredible job of providing you a valuable tool on navigating the healthcare system advocating for a family member in her own personal account of caring for not one, but two family members. Don't take my word for it. Check out the 88 reviews of her book. As one reviewer shares, [Erin] provides a loving tribute to her sister and father while giving the reader a practical guide to getting the best possible care for their seriously ill loved one. The author also has created various caregiver journals that have been known to have a positive impact on a caregiver.

Speaking of journals, Elizabeth Miller, CCC?, CSA? 's Just For You A daily Self-Care Journal is all about self care. There is a page for every day of the year so that, according to this 10+ years family caregiver, you can be more transparent with your thoughts and feelings which will help you see yourself more clearly. Each day starts with a question to help you reflect. Today's question was appropriate for me: "Looking ahead, your to-do list this week may be overwhelming. How do you make it more manageable?".

Theresa Wilbanks cared for her father until he passed at the age of 99. During that time, she learned that caring for a family member is overwhelming, lonely, and stirs the perfect storm of emotions. From sharing her experience with you in Navigating The Caregiver River , she helps the caregiver of today and tomorrow manage the roller coaster of thoughts and emotions that cause crippling stress. Never is there a more important time to know how to set boundaries and use mindfulness to enhance awareness.

Debra Hallisey is a relationship expert when it comes to caregivers and the people they interact with day to day. She has the experience to prove it personally and professionally and shares may successful tips on how to navigate your role as a caregiver in her book Your Relationship Contract. It is a great easy read and a great reference to provide you more confidence that you can do this. Bonus: This book is also available in spanish !

"The only way through is through" is Liz O'Donnell 's mantra and she is very open and direct about it. To her, it is the only way. That is what makes this excellent guide for working caregivers of both genders so effective and a must read. Working Daughter (and Working Dudes as Liz has called me) is a personal account of a family member who all of a sudden is facing the undaunting responsibility of caring for both parents, raising two children, and trying to make a living. As a working caregiver, you will find this content as a valuable insight into what to expect on your caregiver journey.

At The Care Colloquium we were fortunate to have Amy Goyer as our key note speaker and I was very inspired by her story telling, tips, and insightful experience . Her book has that and so much more to offer the reader regardless of where you are on your caregiver journey. She is considered AARP 's Family and Caregiving Expert and on a national level, a huge caregiver advocate with 35years of experience both personally and professionally. She was just on the Today Show sharing a Caregiving Checklist that is worth watching. This is another must read book if you are going to only pick a handful!

Debbie Howard has a lot of passion advocating for caregivers. She has written The Caregiving Journey from her personal experience and from many other caregivers and her content is designed to help you create a plan to for your caregiver journey. She has also taken her passion and expertise to another level and has written a book for employers so that they can find ways to better support their working caregivers in The Caregiving Crisis .

Laurette Foggini has created a treasure piece in her book The Song In Lola's Heart . I bought three of them when I met Laurette. It is a beautifully illustrated well written story about 6 year old Lola and her family, especially her grandmother Babu (short for babushka, which means grandmother in Russian). It is a heartwarming yet powerful teaching piece on caregiving, caregivers, culture (Jewish), family relationships, dementia, and the impact all of this has on a person. I cannot recommend this enough. Well done Laurette! Looking forward to the next book!

I met Rosalind Marshall Jones for the first time at the conference and I can honestly say that she is exactly how she describes herself on her website "I am not your typical caregiver. When you can't do it all, give me a call." Full of compassion, empathy, confidence, friendliness, and a positive attitude. I am sure her book Lifted will be written in the same way, and that is helpful considering the topic she is covering. Consider it preordering it so you will be one of the first to get it!

You're a Caregiver Not A Saint Yeah, Write! is a very clever title for a book. Lori Lemasters will smile reading this. She wanted to get our attention because she has a lot of passion about self care as she confesses that during her eight years of caring for her parents, she did not focus on herself like she should have. Since then, she has become a pro at self care and shares valuable tips for us in this well designed journal and workbook.

Michala Gibson and Mandy Shoemaker are sisters-in-law who founded Prairie Elder Care.?Now is Found ? is a book and engagement model bringing back community, connection and control to those who have lost so much due to dementia. It includes real stories from residents, families and staff. Discover strategies to improving quality of life in the same manner practitioners learn, from the people they serve.

Dr. Anne Kenny , a skilled palliative care physician, describes how to navigate the difficult journey of late-stage dementia with sensitivity, compassion, and common sense. Combining her personal experience caring for a mother with dementia with her medical expertise in both dementia and end-of-life care, Dr. Kenny helps the reader prepare for a family member's death while managing their own emotional health.

Nobody prepares us for how we're going to feel in the THIRD third of our life. Christine A. Smith, "Aspects of Aging" talk show Host created the "The Act of Aging" series to show us how to navigate today our future feelings. In the book she covers challenges, called Aspects of Aging, such as increased Need for Non-prescription Assistive Devices, Change is Perceived as Loss, Still Having Value to Contribute, Adult Children Experiencing Aspects of Aging and Spending More Hours Each Day Alone.

It is proven time and time again that caregivers need support from others to help their caregiver journey be less difficult. Glenna Crooks, Ph.D. has extensively researched how you live life supported by eight network groups--a family network, a health and vitality network, a social and community network, and a career network, to name a few. Likewise you support other people as part of their networks.?The NetworkSage? shows the importance of networks for success, and it offers specific ideas about how to manage them well from people who have done it, succeeding in improving their health, personal relationships, family life, income, and careers.

In Loving Memory of Gary Barg has been providing support and resources to caregivers for many years. He has a great newsletter and a magazine that you may want to check out. He also has a great list of books on his Book Club tab .

Here are some other books that you may want to check out. Though these authors were not at the Care Colloquium, I either know them personally or I have read their books and have found them very helpful enough to consider them part of the caregiver advocate army:

Donna Thomson and Zachary White, Ph.D. have conducted extensive research on the journey of caring and their book is a great practical guide in helping you through your personal transformation into a caregiver. The Unexpected Journey of Caring is a book that greets caregivers where they are in their journey—new or chronic—not where others expect (or want) them to be.

This is an excellent resource on the topic of caregiver burnout. Kate Washington writes from personal experience as a care partner to her husband and extensive research about the care economy. Already Toast is a must read to give you perspective on the caregiver role and the crossroads it creates with your own personal life.

Scott Greenberg is a great radio show host and care advocate. He is also a great author and his book Oh My God I'm Getting Older and So Is My Mom is an excellent easy to consume guide created from his tremendous experience and hundreds of interviews with experts. He cleverly incorporates humor to cover serious topics such as the changing face of healthcare, living with chronic illness, minimizing fall risks, dealing with sibling rivalry, sex after sixty, funeral options, and the value of volunteerism.?

Daniel Kenner recorded many personal conversations with his mother Maureen and from these conversations, he was able to share with us a heartwarming story Room For Grace . It is about a woman suffering from a chronic illness while caring for her husband. Her positive outlook and how she faces her daily challenges is an inspiration for any caregiver on their journey.

One of the best, inspiring, quick and easy books I have read (and re-read) is the 7 Keys To Navigating A Crisis. Considered one of the positive outputs from the pandemic, Elia Gourgouris Ph.D. and Kon Apostolopoulos wrote this book to help you in a crisis mode which easily can relate to a caregiver journey. In fact the first chapter on Self Care that covers the four important areas of well-being--physical, mental, emotional and spiritual-directly can apply to a caregiver.

Unfortunately another area that impacts caregivers especially in the crisis mode is financial. Whether the family member you are helping to care for is running out of money, or you are spending money you did not budge to be a caregiver, either scenario is a real serious issue in our country as 10,000 people turn 65 every day. I met one of the authors, Joe Saul-Sehy at another conference and bought his book Stacked immediately. We had a good discussion about the importance of financial literacy as a valuable tool while you embark on your caregiver journey.