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Books, Articles, and Media — Aging

Activities to Do With Your Parent Who Has Alzheimer's Dementia. Levy, Judith.
Help maintain a loved one’s self-care skills, mobility, and socialization. Includes support sources, caregiver burnout prevention ideas, room by room safety suggestions, and more. Search online by book title.

Documentary Film: "Caring for Mom & Dad" Narrated by Meryl Streep PBS premiered a new documentary on caregiving that seeks to answer the questions of caregiving and explore the everyday emotional, health, and financial challenges that caregivers face., the film tells the stories of caregiving families and their experiences. The film is available for online streaming. Please visit the website for more information: Click here

Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? Chast, Roz.
Famed cartoonist describes and sketches the experience of watching her parents "fade away" in this memoir outlining their final years. “Alternately laugh-out-loud funny and heartbreaking, a beautiful book, deeply felt.”
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"The Far Shore of Aging" Podcast. OnBeing.org. 26 July 2014. Gross, Jane.
Jane Gross, creator of the New York Times’ New Old Age blog, shares her wisdom about the new relationship between children and parents, and the changing way we think about aging,
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"Fighting to Honor Father's Last Wish: To Die at Home." New York Times. 25 Sept. 2014.  Bernstein, Nina.
Determined to fulfill her father's wish to die at home, a daughter must challenge the “forces of the health care system – hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, insurance companies, and the shifting crosscurrents of public health care spending.”
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"For Caregivers, Alzheimer’s can be a Life Sentence." Newsweek. 28 March 2014.  Jones, Abigail.
People with Alzheimer’s disease live, on average, four to eight years after diagnosis, though some live 20 years or more. The emotional, physical and financial effects on family and caregivers can be profound.
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"How to Get Compensation When Caring for Aging Parents."  Consumer Reports.               03 January 2018. Mary C. Hickey 
Consumer Reports (CR) outlines five ways to offset the cost and loss of income. These five routes for getting paid as a caregiver to a family member are through Medicaid, Veterans Services, Long-term Insurance, Paid Caregiver Leave, and Family Contracts.
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 No Act of Love is Ever Wasted: The Spirituality of Caring for Persons with Dementia.  Morgan, Richard & Thibault, Jane Marie.
Fresh, hopeful model for dealing with life and death in the realm of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Affirms caregiving is never in vain and reassures that the lives of those receiving care are not being lived in vain. Search online by book title.

Slow Dancing with a Stranger: Lost and Found in the Age of Alzheimer's. Comer, Meryl.
Glimpse behind closed doors at the difficult reality of day-to-day life with an Alzheimer’s patient. This Alzheimer’s advocate describes her years of caring for her husband, who developed early-onset AD with behavioral symptoms. Proceeds support Alzheimer’s research. Search online by book title.

"When Elderly Parents Lose Their Independence." Wall Street Journal. 10 Aug. 2014.  Lauricella, Tom.
Description of the transitions elderly parents make as they age, with a focus on the stress when an older adult needs to transition away from their home and independence.
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“Why Elder Care in America Isn't Working: When Risk Aversion Outweighs Compassion, the System is Broken.” Next Avenue, PBS.  24 Sept. 2014.
Kane, Robert MD.
Examines America's elder care system and the premise that it is driven by caution instead of imagination. When risk aversion outweighs compassion, the system is broken.
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"Why Your Aging Parent Says "NO" Even Though "YES" is the Logical Answer." Elder Resolution Partners. 17 March 2014.
Sheds light on how the irrational “no” is an elder’s attempt to maintain control, because virtually every day they feel losses – of strength, health, peers, and authority.
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