Books for Prep










 : Uncertain Inheritance, An: Writers on Caring for Family

List Price: $24.95
Amazon.com's Price: $18.21
You Save: $6.74 (27%)
Prices subject to change.



Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours



This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.0425
EAN: 9780060875305
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0060875305
Label: William Morrow
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: December 01, 2007
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: November 13, 2007
Studio: William Morrow




Related Items: Alternate Versions: Click to Display

Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display



Editorial Review:

Product Description:


In this eloquent collection of essays—from the editor of the national bestseller Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression—contributors reveal their experiences in caring for family through illness and death



Today, thirty million people look after frail family members in their own homes. This number will increase drastically over the next decade—as baby boomers tiptoe toward old age; as soldiers return home from war wounded, mentally and physically; as a growing number of Americans find themselves caught between the needs of elderly parents and young children; as medical advances extend lives and health insurance fails to cover them. This compelling book offers both literary solace and guidance to the people who find themselves witness to—and participants in—the fading lives of their intimates.



Some of the country's most accomplished writers offer frank insights and revelations about this complex relationship. Julia Glass describes the tension between giving care—to her two young sons—and needing care after being diagnosed with breast cancer; Ann Harleman explores her decision to place her husband in an institution; Sam Lipsyte alternates between dark humor and profound understanding in telling the story of his mother's battle with cancer; Ann Hood wishes she'd had more time as a caregiver, to prepare herself for the loss of her daughter; Andrew Solomon examines the humbling experience of returning as an adult to be cared for by his father; cartoonist Stan Mack offers an illustrated piece about the humor and hell of making his way through the medical bureaucracy alongside his partner, Janet; Julia Alvarez writes about the competition between her and her three sisters to be the best daughter as they tend to their ailing parents. An Uncertain Inheritance examines the caregiving relationship from every angle—children caring for parents; parents caring for children; sib-lings, spouses, and close friends, all looking after one another—to reveal the pain, intimacy, and grace that take place in this meaningful connection.





Customer Reviews
Average Rating:  out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Well written and valuable insights
Both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My mother is in a nursing home and has dementia.



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - uncertain inheritance
This is a wonderful case book for caregivers. Many different situations are included and the essays are thoughtful and well written. It's a must for all those involved in such cases, including health and psychological problems. I came away with many ideas to help in my own caregiving.

fwt



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - The New Wave CareGivers
The variety of emotions and experiences in this beautifully written and profoundly felt collection covered about 80% of my gifts and disasters during my 12 years of 24/7/365. It's wonderful when we can read that others share our sorrows and joys while putting careful and caring words and analysis to them. New Wave CareGivers are not your father's Buick anymore.



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Courageous, Well-Written, and Achingly Real
All of us at some point in our lives will need to confront the issues written about in this eloquent collection -- whether it's our parents, our spouses, our siblings, our friends, or even ourselves. The writers here tackle the subject with intimacy, poignancy, grace...and a great amount of courage.

There are stand-outs for me in this collection: the writer Helen Schulman asking her father, "We all love you, we still have fun together, we still can enjoy one another, does any of that ... Read More



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Essential reading for all adults

Most of us are amateurs in caring for ill people. As one reviewer wrote, the burden of doing so "is apt to descend upon us like a blow from fate, stunning and unforeseen. ... [Then] something cracks open -- a father or a friend gets cancer, a mother succumbs to Alzheimer's, a husband has a terrible accident, a child dies -- and what Virginia Woolf once called "extreme reality" floods in." Any one of us can find ourselves unexpectedly tested to the limits of our endurance.

In number ... Read More







 






In association with Amazon.com