Drawing on the writings and wisdom of Henri J. M. Nouwen's themes of caregiving, Marjorie J. Thompson offers a vulnerable exploration of caregiving intertwined both with her own many years of intimate caregiving of family members and collected stories of caregivers in varied settings and stages of life. While not shying away from the demanding physical, emotional and spiritual challenges of caregiving, Courage for Caregivers also celebrates the gifts of caregiving grounded in the belovedness both caregiver and care receiver share in God¿s eyes. Practical leader guides and resources make Courage for Caregivers a tool that moves smoothly from individual encouragement to group and congregational ministry to develop support for the universal experience of caregiving.

A moving, intimate, and compassionate book that chronicles the experiences of a group of long-term caregivers—spouses, parents, and friends of the elderly and ill—illuminating critical issues of old age, end-of-life care, medical reform, and social policy—and “providing comfort in the time-honored form of shared experience” (The Minneapolis Star-Tribune). In 2010, journalist Nell Lake began sitting in on the weekly meetings of a local hospital’s caregivers support group. Soon members invited her into their lives. For two years, she brought empathy, insight, and an eye for detail to understanding Penny, a fifty-year-old botanist caring for her aging mother; Daniel, a survivor of Nazi Germany who tends his ailing wife; William, whose wife suffers from Alzheimer’s; and others with whom all caregivers will identify. Witnessing acts of devotion and frustration, lessons in patience and in letting go, Lake illuminates the intimate exchanges of caregiving and care-receiving and considers important and timely social issues: How can we care for the aging, ill, and dying with skill and compassion, even as the costs and labors of care increase? How might the medical profession take into account the needs of caregivers as well as patients? In The Caregivers Nell Lake shares a thoughtful and tenderly reported depiction of the real-life predicaments that evoke these crucial questions. With more and more people spending their late years ill and frail, and 43 million Americans already caring for family members over age fifty, this is an important chronicle of a widely shared experience and a public concern. “The Caregivers is as elegantly constructed as a novel, but more than that, Lake writes about these people with such warmth and vividness that they feel as memorable as our favorite fictional characters. It is a beautifully written account” (The Boston Globe).

Alzheimer's disease is often referred to as a family disease because of the constant emotional strain it places on family members as they watch their loved ones slowly slip away. But for those left with caring for their loved ones, the emotional, physical, and financial toll can be enormous so much so that most caregivers fail to take care of themselves and become depressed, ill and unable to continue their role as caregiver. Courage to Care: A Caregiver's Companion Through the Stages of Alzheimer's helps to ease the burden of those who have accepted this labor of love by providing them with knowledge and coping strategies to make it through each stage of this progressive and complicated disease. The book focuses not only on how to deal with the emotional issues associated with the disease, but provides specific advice on how to make life easier and more enjoyable for both the loved one and the caregiver.

Walking a companion home is an old-fashioned custom, often lost in our modern era. But there was a time when walking someone home was a way of offering protection and guidance. Joyce Hutchison and Joyce Rupp capture the spirit of that personal companionship for those who accompany the dying on their final journey. Whether family members, friends, chaplains, or health care workers, caregivers will find here much inspiration and support for their ministry.

Drawing on the writings and wisdom of Henri Nouwen and her own many years of caregiving, this vulnerable exploration of caregiving celebrates the gifts of caregiving grounded in the belovedness of caregiver and care receiver in God's eyes without shying away from its physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges.

"Essays and talks on the theme of community by Henri Nouwen, the popular writer and spiritual teacher"--

There are 65.7 million caregivers in America, making up 29 percent of the U.S. adult population. Where does the caregiver turn when dealing with their own need for encouragement and renewal?