Essay --

The book â€Å"Caring for Yourself While Caring for Your Aging Parents† written by Clare Berman discusses all of the key issues involved in caring for an elderly parent. Berman discusses these issues by drawing from her personal experience and interviews with caregivers. Berman also provides advice and information on: Caregivers, stress among siblings, long distance caregiving, finances and nursing home care (Berman, 2005). This paper will evaluate the way in which the author handled the subject of caring for your aging parents as well as yourself, and how the book contributed to my understanding of the issues discussed. This paper will do so by reviewing a plot summary, character analyses and theme analyses. Plot Summary - Berman’s book serves as a guide for individuals who are involved in caring for aging parents, (and for those who see caretaking in their future). The book centers on the emotional stresses and needs of caregivers, while at the same time addressing all the practical issues they are likely to confront. Berman does this by drawing on her own experiences, the experiences of many other adult children, and interviews with specialists in geriatrics; Berman also discusses the wide range of emotions that can accompany caregiving (Berman, 2005). Character Analysis – The character I choose to examine is Clare Berman herself because she offers herself in her book as an example we all can pull from when we are faced with caring for our older adult parents. Berman is seen as the protagonist in the book due to her battle with caring for her aging mother and mother in law with Alzheimer’s. Berman’s core quest is to care for her aging mother and mother in law, while caring for herself. This quest is so important to Berman because w... ...ult children. The guilt that as a caregiver they were not doing enough and how as a caregiver you may feel guilt was a constant throughout the book. In terms of the characters I noticed a sprinkling of themes which connected all of them. The type of characters were hardworking, honest, loving caregivers who were seeking a happy medium between caring for themselves, their families and their older adult loved ones. All of the characters wanted to have a separate life as well as creating a good and healthy life for the older adult they are caring for. I believed the author’s intent is in creating such characters were to help us as the reader to connect to them and their struggles. It also seemed as though Berman wanted to demonstrate that all caregivers go through the same struggles and feelings of inadequacy about what they are doing through the context of the book.