For most of us it is not the "ifs" but the "whens": when I notice the first signs; when we mourn the role reversal; when my children need me too; or when I don't know how to pray. Those are just a few of the fifty-two reflections on the changes, challenges, and blessings of loving your parent as they grow older. Their lives--and yours--begin to change. Knowing that you are not alone, that others have been where you are, is encouraging and uplifting. This is not a how-to, but a me-too, as you see yourself and your own situation lived out in the stories of others.

For most of us it is not the "ifs" but the "whens": when I notice the first signs; when we mourn the role reversal; when my children need me too; or when I don't know how to pray. Those are just a few of the fifty-two reflections on the changes, challenges, and blessings of loving your parent as they grow older. Their lives--and yours--begin to change. Knowing that you are not alone, that others have been where you are, is encouraging and uplifting. This is not a how-to, but a me-too, as you see yourself and your own situation lived out in the stories of others.

This tongue-in-cheek celebration boldly goes where no book has gone before--right into the heart, soul, and "easy-fit" wardrobe of the generation that invented sex, drugs, and rock and roll to reveal exactly how 76 million baby boomers are handling middle age. Line drawings.

Baby boomers are aging and retiring, creating the largest group of seniors the world has ever known. This trend has adult children looking at uncertain futures of meeting their retirement goals while providing care for their aging parents. Old age doesn't come with a handbook on how to handle the speed bumps of elder care, leaving us with difficult questions like; Is it time for our elder to hang up the car keys? How to deal with hospital stays and doctor's appointments? What happens if they get dementia? Should they live with us, or a care facility? How to deal with caregiver stress and burnout? 63% of caregivers die before the care receiver from depression related illness like suicide, strokes, and heart disease. This is a “must read” for anyone who chooses to not only survive care giving, but have it enrich their lives.

This book is a “must read” for anyone who is presently caring for their aging parents, anyone who will eventually care for their aging parents or anyone planning on growing older. The author brings her decades of professional experiences as a psychotherapist, an attorney, a coach and a daughter to this book. She simultaneously chronicles her own heart-warming and touching journey as well as providing a comprehensive guide on doing effective family caregiving in the 21st century. Many report feeling “deeply understood” reading this book as they resonated with the candid revelations of the author’s inner struggles. Others find hers “a sane voice in a difficult world.” You will not be disappointed with reading the dilemmas, insights and decisions told in “My Story,” as you see what can be learned from this expert’s mistakes as well as her successes. Jane Wolf Frances offers many valuable tips and insights as she guides you from the beginning of the POPcycle, as she’s termed it, all the way to the end of her own parents’ lives. Whether you’re one of the 75 million Americans who are lucky enough to be “ParentingOurParents,” or you’re still struggling with overwhelm and confusion, you’ll need to know what’s being offered here. You will learn how you can: read the signs your parents need help; have “the talk” with your folks; make crucial decisions to get the maximum benefits available; enroll more family to be on the team; balance the elements in the new life you’re taking on as ParentingOurParents will change your life; transform the remarkable challenges of role reversals - legal, emotional, practical, residential - into a true journey of love.

This important book helps families address the necessary legal hurdles and emotional difficulties that arise with aging parents. Addressing the areas of relationships, emotions, and dignity with practical and scriptural insights, this book will help to ensure that the aging parent is protected along with the other relationships in the family. Love’s Way is a book that adult families will want to keep handy and return to often. Written by two family mediators, it provides readers with a map through the weeds that spring up along the path as parents age and roles reverse. Using real-life examples from years of working with families in this season of life, the authors illustrate common issues that can send a family into serious issues: unhealed sibling rivalries, parental favoritism, greed, secrecy, and fear of initiating necessary conversations. Readers will learn how to spot potential problems before they become crises and prevent or rectify them in their own families. They’ll learn what documents everyone needs, how to work with forgiveness, how to speak truth in love, and how to let go. Most importantly, readers (both adult children and their parents) will gain tools to create their own win-win solutions that keep parents safe and autonomous and family love intact. Although Carolyn Miller Parr and Sig Cohen come from different faith traditions (Carolyn is Christian and Sig is Jewish), both are deeply committed. As a result, Love’s Way is both spiritual and practical. It overflows with advice readers can immediately begin to apply, with stories from the authors’ fifteen years as co-mediators, writers, speakers, and personal experiences as caregivers to their own aging parents. Carolyn Miller Parr is a retired judge, mediator, writer, and public speaker. She graduated from Stetson University (BA), Vanderbilt (MA English), and Georgetown Law (JD). Since 2002, Judge Parr has practiced peacemaking through her mediation practice Beyond Dispute and Tough Conversations with Sig Cohen. Sig Cohen is a retired Foreign Service officer, fundraiser, and community organizer, and now serves as a mediator. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (BS) and the University of Chicago (MA in International Relations).

"More people than ever before face the practical and emotional challenges of caring for aged or disabled parents. Looking at this role reversal through the eyes of both parent and adult child - the "Chadult" - Schiff leads us through the pertinent questions and concerns that will arise. What degree of assistance is needed? At what stage? How can we tactfully ascertain our parents' real needs and wishes, resolve lifelong emotions, share responsibilities with spouses and siblings and in-laws, and set an example for our own children?" "Real-life stories - poignant, humorous, inspiring - from the author's own work with nursing-home residents and their families illustrate the dynamics of a situation which offers a chance for personal growth. Through his grandchildren, a man recovers a long-lost closeness to his son. A Chadult who resented her mother's lesbian lover finds, through friendship with her, a new understanding of her mother. Warm and comforting, wise and practical, this is an essential guide for the next half-century."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved