How to Care for Aging Parents, 3rd Edition: A One-Stop Resource for All Your Medical, Financial, Housing, and Emotional Issues

Unlike many books I considered, this one had a more honoring tone toward parents and did not talk down to the elderly or suggest one's parents were somehow becoming one's children. This helped shape the way I will process and interpret events related to caring for parents. While it is not a Christian book, it is a very Christian-friendly resource in that it seeks to help the reader appreciate their aging loved one, and not resent them. I'd add a bit of caution about some of the self-help sections which may or may not align with the Bible, but that's a minor aspect of the book. The book is also very thorough and well-researched. Would be a helpful gift for a pastor or a friend in this life season. I learned so much and actively recommend this resource to others.

This was the second one of these books I have purchased. I read the first one from cover to cover. It is a great book for any person caring for a loved one. The resources are great. The way everything you could possibly need help with is right in the book with many different scenarios on how to help your loved one. I bought the second one for a friend and she is still thanking me everytime I see her. Buy the book. You will not regret it.

Love this book. It’s been my bible for seven years and going as I’m a caregiver to my Dad.

All the facts, all in one place. Addresses some of the hardest issues. Loved the real life stories from people in the situation. Great suggestions for how to lovingly make changes necessary to keep parents safe. Good advice for self care as well. Great compromise suggestions for when all are not on the same page.

I have bought this book for at least 6 other friends. It covers every possible helpful thing you could imagine, from safety tips for your parent's home to going with them to the doctor, being their advocate when they can't keep all the facts straight. And throughout the book, the caregiver is encouraged to take care of themselves, to not get discouraged, to guard against the depression and anxiety that all of this causes. It is a serious thing to care for a parents and it is not easy. The lovely 'circle of life' is a nice idea, but in reality---yes, they did care for us as babies and now they need our help---but they aren't babies and they don't want to have to need help at all. They just want their life to go on as before, with their independence and autonomy. So we must anticipate their needs, be there to help, and recognize when we need to get outside help, because we just cannot do it all, and maintain our own lives, jobs and families as well as theirs. This book was an invaluable tool and resource for me. It's easy to read, look up just the topic you need at the time, in the table of contents or index, ---it does not require that you read it from cover to cover to get a lot out of it.

This is the definitive encyclopedia on caring for elderly parents. Unfortunately, reading it is about as much fun as reading an encyclopedia. This book is SO long, SO over the top in detail, and hits you with SO many things you need to do and questions you need to ask, that the result (at least for me) was depression and exhaustion. It's also repetitive; the author has attempted to make each chapter stand on its own, but doing so meant repeating the same things multiple times in different chapters, if they were relevant for that chapter. Still, if you are in a situation where you are (or will soon be) caring for an aging parent, I think this book is a "must read" even if the task of getting through it is burdensome. But so is caring for an aging parent, and ultimately this book can help make that role easier. After an initial read, you'll want to keep this book around for future reference, when you can go back to the most relevant chapters to get checklists or reference sources; but I think a first initial full read is still needed to get the full scope of what is available.

This book is as thorough, as well-written, as all-encompassing as to the various topics covered, also as sensitive, as all of the other five-star reviews have indicated. This seems to me to be the one book one can purchase and possibly forget about all of the other books, although I did find a book written by an attorney that covered more of the legal issues in greater legal depth. But this particular book by Virginia Morris is truly amazing, a real Bible for the topic, and I highly recommend it. It has helped me greatly in dealing with my elderly mother and her needs, as well as with my siblings-- and hers. It not only teaches you everything you need to know about a particular topic or sub-topic, but it will introduce you to topics you should be thinking about that you haven't even thought of! It will not confuse you by doing so, or overwhelm you; just use it as the reference guide that it is.

In writing a book for global workers, I found this - will be recommending it to each and every person who is far from their aging parents. An exceptional resource, an assuring series of questions, processes, and checklists that will help you navigate aging, care of the aged, the final years, and the process of grief that follows.

Very good book but remember it is an American book. A lot of the resources don’t exist here. But the day to day dealing with elderly/disabled/dementia relatives is excellent.

excellent handbook empathetically written. USA based but generic enough to set you on a path elsewhere.

Just the job

I didn’t find this book useful at all. I’m not sure it’s researched very much. Didn’t really inform me any more than I already was. I do not recommend this one.