Crash: A Memoir of a Reluctant Caregiver
Author: Rachel Michelberg
Publisher:
Published: 2021-04-27
Total Pages:
ISBN-13: 9781647420321
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Crash
Author: Rachel Michelberg
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2021-04-27
Total Pages: 214
ISBN-13: 1647420334
DOWNLOAD EBOOK“. . . an engaging exploration of duty, guilt, and self-preservation. . . . A cleareyed consideration of difficult ethical and familial choices.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS Rachel likes to think of herself as a nice Jewish girl, dedicated to doing what’s honorable, just as her parents raised her to do. But when her husband, David, survives a plane crash and is left with severe brain damage, she faces a choice: will she dedicate her life to caring for a man she no longer loves, or walk away? Their marriage had been rocky at the time of the accident, and though she wants to do the right thing, Rachel doesn’t know how she is supposed to care for two kids in addition to a now irrational, incontinent, and seizure-prone grown man. And how will she manage to see her lover? But then again, what kind of selfish monster would refuse to care for her disabled husband, no matter how unhappy her marriage had been? Rachel wants to believe that she can dedicate her life to David’s needs, but knows in her heart it is impossible. Crash tackles a pervasive dilemma in our culture: the moral conflicts individuals face when caregiving for a disabled or cognitively impaired family member.
Learning by Accident
Author: Rosemary Rawlins
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2014-03-04
Total Pages: 380
ISBN-13: 1629141461
DOWNLOAD EBOOKOn a sunny spring day, in an ordinary suburban kitchen, the phone rings. There’s been an accident. In one heartbeat, a family’s life is changed forever. After her husband, Hugh, is hit by a car while riding his bicycle, Rosemary Rawlins is plunged into twelve months of marathon caregiving, without the promise of a positive outcome. She works herself to the point of exhaustion to bring her grievously injured husband—who suffered a traumatic brain injury, necessitating the removal of half his skull—back home and back to himself. Then, as he slowly begins to reclaim his life, Rosemary falls apart. She can't sleep. Her heart pounds. Her joy and trust in the world dissolve into endless anxiety. She lays awake at night wondering how her marriage will survive. Will she ever be able to relate to Hugh again? What will become of their relationship? Their children? Do they recognize each other—literally—as the people they fell in love with and married decades ago? How can she let go of her fears? And what can she learn from them? Learning by Accident is a caregiver's story of ambiguous loss, family love, and emotional healing. This compelling personal account demonstrates with heart and humor that what we fear can be more debilitating than any physical injury. And that sometimes starting over is exactly what we need.
The Reluctant Carer
Author: The Reluctant Carer
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2022-06-23
Total Pages: 256
ISBN-13: 1529029368
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAn irresistibly moving, funny and urgent memoir about the reality of caring for your parents, when you can barely care for yourself. ‘Hilarious, bitter, poignant and profound, this is the human condition laid brilliantly bare, like an existential soap opera – only with more laughs.‘ - Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan It was the kind of phone call we all dread. Your elderly father has been admitted to hospital. He’s not well and he needs your help. Your mum is about to be left at home alone. She needs you too. The answer? Drop everything. Go. Help. The reality? Not so straightforward. Suddenly, you’re a kid again, stranded in the overheated house you grew up in. They need you 24/7, that much is obvious. And you want to help, of course you do. But soon your life starts to unravel almost as quickly as their health. In between bouts of washing, feeding, cooking and fighting there are days that test you, days where everything goes wrong and days where everyone, miraculously rises to the occasion. And in between all of that, you learn how to care. But this time with feeling. Irresistibly funny, unflinching and deeply moving, this is a love letter to family and friends, to carers and to anyone who has ever packed a small bag intent on staying for just a few days. This is a true story of what it really means to be a carer, and of the ties that bind even tighter when you least expect it. This is The Reluctant Carer.
Prisoners Without Bars
Author: Donna O'Donnell Figurski
Publisher: BQB Publishing
Published: 2018-11-01
Total Pages: 284
ISBN-13: 1608082067
DOWNLOAD EBOOK“Laugh! Cry! G-A-S-P!" This heart-wrenching and triumphant love story is a tale of advocacy and caregiving. Donna's husband, David, stumbled into their bedroom, his hand covering a blood-filled eye from a brain hemorrhage. Donna called 9-1-1. David slipped into a coma. At that moment, Donna was thrust onto the path of caregiver for her best friend and the love of her life. In her debut memoir, Donna shares how a neurosurgeon said that David would make a "great organ donor." She writes of arrogant doctors, uncaring visitors, insensitive ambulance drivers, and problematic nurses. She also tells of the many compassionate doctors, nurses, therapists, staff, strangers, family members, and friends who helped them on their journey. Donna compellingly describes her ability to appear positive as she experiences the horror of making life-or-death decisions. As her world crashes, she credits laughter as her lifesaver. More than thirteen years later, Donna and David are living a "new normal" together.
Shattered, Shaken and Stirred
Author: Gibert S. Ahrens
Publisher: Positano Press
Published: 2009-10
Total Pages: 225
ISBN-13: 098428950X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKA devastating car accident upends, disrupts and derails a seemingly ordinary family. In the wake of devastation is where recovery and, ultimately, redemption are found. Shattered, Shaken and Stirred explores and embraces the process of brokenness and healing in way that is honest, heartfelt, and yet at times reassuringly humorous.
The Reluctant Caregiver
Author: Bobbi Junior
Publisher:
Published: 2014
Total Pages:
ISBN-13: 9781486606320
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Reluctant Caregiver
Author: Devon Ervin
Publisher: Highpoint Life
Published: 2023-06-03
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKCertified Life Coach Devon Ervin shares a collection of stories and poems about the days, months, and years following her husband's brain injuries and how those moments impacted her, their marriage, and their family. It tells the somewhat universal (and often unspoken) story of the life of a caregiver, walking the reader through a harrowing journey as she finds her way back to being the author of her own life. This raw and often heartbreaking memoir gives voice to the emotional struggles of caregivers and provides an alternative way of looking at options for survivors and those who care for them. It centers the well-being of both parties so they can create lives that are mutually fulfilling, even if done in non-traditional ways.
Gone
Author: Linda K. Olson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2020-10-27
Total Pages: 268
ISBN-13: 1631527908
DOWNLOAD EBOOKLinda Olson and her husband, Dave Hodgens, were young doctors whose story had all the makings of a fairy tale. But then, while they were vacationing in Germany, a train hit their van, shattering their lives—and Linda’s body. When Linda saw Dave for the first time after losing her right arm and both of her legs, she told him she would understand if he left. His response: “I didn’t marry your arms or your legs. If you can do it, I can do it.” In order to protect their loved ones, they decided to hide the truth about what really happened on those train tracks, and they kept their secret for thirty-five years. As a triple amputee, Linda learned to walk with prostheses and change diapers and insert IVs with one hand. She finished her residency while pregnant and living on her own. And she and Dave went on to pursue their dream careers, raise two children, and travel the world. Inspiring and deeply moving, Gone asks readers to find not only courage but also laughter in the unexpected challenges we all face. The day of the accident, no one envied Linda and Dave. Today, many do.
Losing a Life
Author: Nancy Gerber
Publisher: University Press of America
Published: 2005
Total Pages: 96
ISBN-13: 9780761831129
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn this thought-provoking memoir, Nancy Gerber maps the wrenching terrain of caring for an elderly parent. In the fall of 1995, at the age of 73, the author's father suffered a massive stroke on the right side of the brain, rendering him permanently disabled. This catastrophic event plunged the author and her family into a crisis for which they were completely unprepared, one that included financial worries; the need to hire full-time, live-in help; and the specter of putting her father into a nursing home.
