My Parent's Keeper: The Guilt, Grief, Guesswork, and Unexpected Gifts of Caregiving (Yale University Press Health & Wellness)

When it comes time to provide care for those who once cared for us, where can we turn? This book offers practical guidance for a broad range of caregiving situations when family caregivers assume their new role.

• Uses the latest research and draws on case histories and interviews.
• Is a resource as well as a source of inspiration, with a blend of powerful stories and practical advice.
• Helps caregivers cope with numerous challenges, including parents who need but refuse help; siblings who don’t get along; the complexity of healthcare systems; financial issues; juggling work and caregiving; the use of technology; the power of connecting with a loved one who has dementia; and realizing the benefits amid the burdens of caregiving.

My Parent’s Keeper by Jody Gastfriend was chosen as a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the Health/Wellness category
 

Honorable mention for the 2019 Educators Book Award, sponsored by The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International
 

"Jody Gastfriend has created the ultimate GPS for family caregivers. At once humane and helpful, personal and political, she charts the long, hard, and rewarding role that all of us will take caring for our families and each other. Don't leave home without it!"—Ellen Goodman, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and founder of The Conversation Project

“Jody Gastfriend unflinchingly tackles a complex aspect of eldercare in each chapter of My Parent’s Keeper. She has masterfully blended essential facts with exceptional psychological insight to create an indispensable resource for family caregivers.”—Patrick O’Malley, author of Getting Grief Right: Finding Your Story of Love in the Sorrow of Loss

“My Parent's Keeper shines a light on the conundrum of caregiving—as adult children, our best intentions are insufficient to help our parents and ourselves. We need a plan in advance of need—this book offers up-to-date guideposts for this inevitable caregiving journey."—Laurie M. Orlov, author of When Your Parents Need Elder Care: Lessons from the Front Lines

“Caregiving is a noble cause. The responsibilities are enormous. This book helps guide us through the pitfalls when one takes on this duty, which is both a curse and a blessing for the child caring for a parent.”—Harry Haroutunian, author of Being Sober and Not As Prescribed

“Jody Gastfriend’s use of humor and pathos without bitterness or self-pity makes this book an easy read. The tone is conversational—never condescending, never combative—even when describing the ‘maze’ that health care has become and the limitations of existing policies.”—Gary Kennedy, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Jody Gastfriend has been a social worker for more than thirty years and is vice president of senior care for Care.com, the world’s largest online marketplace for finding and managing family care.