Caregiver Library

To borrow a book, contact Samantha Norberg at samanthan@jfsc.org or call 403-692-6392.

The Complete Guide for Family Caregivers - Caroline Tapp-McDougall

Providing eldercare while working and managing a busy home life is a recipe for burnout and is the worst situation in which to make thoughtful, informed decisions that have significant impact on the quality of life of an aging parent. The Complete Guide for Family Caregivers, written by one of Canada's foremost experts on eldercare, provides the advice people need to make smart decisions, both with and for their loved ones, including housing, finances, legal and estate planning, medical needs, and independence and mobility. This book provides not only practical advice but also discusses the various situations that may confront you and provides real, actionable information and sources to help you along the way in your eldercare journey.

Cruising through Caregiving - Jennifer L. FitzPatrick, MSW, CSP

Caregiving is no vacation, but you can cruise more smoothly through it! If you’re facing the daunting reality that you’re about to become a caregiver—whether you planned for it or not—Cruising through Caregiving is the down-to-earth and authoritative answer you need. Jennifer FitzPatrick has been through nearly every possible scenario on the caregiving spectrum, both professionally and personally, and she expertly shows you how to be a responsible, loving caregiver without being overcome by guilt, exhaustion, or worry.

It doesn’t matter whether you have advantages such as money or an extended family. You don’t have to passively just let things happen. No matter your particular situation, FitzPatrick has a practical and thoughtful solution to deal with it. She’ll help you discover and harness powers you don’t even know you have—from getting other family members to participate in caregiving to navigating a loved one’s finances, living setting, or declining physical and mental health conditions.

Advice and resources from FitzPatrick and twenty-four other professionals show how to give your loved one the best quality of life possible without sacrificing your own life, health, career, relationships, or financial stability.

Neither Married Nor Single - Dr. David Kirkpatrick

When Dr. David Kirkpatrick’s wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2007, their lives—and their marriage—would change forever. In an honest, uplifting, and sometimes heartbreaking account of loving a partner with dementia, Dr. Kirkpatrick creates a clear guide for others in similar circumstances. He shares his perspective both as a loving and grief-stricken husband coping with a profound change in his marriage, and as a geriatric psychiatrist doing everything he can for his wife while continually learning throughout that experience.

Dr. Kirkpatrick tackles the tough questions about caretaking, grief, loss, love, and sex for those whose partners have dementia. When is the right time to find or even to begin considering a care home for your loved one? How can you navigate the complexities of your changing sexual relationship with an Alzheimer’s partner? When is it appropriate for you to consider new relationships? With wisdom and compassion, Dr. Kirkpatrick reflects on these questions and more.

Whether your partner has been recently diagnosed or has been living with dementia for many years, Neither Married Nor Single will help lead you to effective strategies for living and loving in an Alzheimer’s marriage, and for dealing with the changes ahead.

And it will help you remember that you are not alone.

Love in the Land of Dementia - Deborah Shouse

From the earliest indicators and faint forebodings to the eventual grim diagnosis, Deborah Shouse carries readers along on the difficult—and at times joyous—road she and her parents walked through the Land of Dementia—Alzheimer's disease.

She shares the challenges she faced during the process of caring for both parents as her mother slowly vanished, to be replaced by a difficult but surprisingly no less valued and beloved stranger. Strong, fluid organization and tender writing distinguish this purposeful and compelling read on a heartbreaking subject filled with unexpected insights.

In addition to its spiritual message, Love in the Land of Dementia includes practical suggestions and support for caregivers and other family members.

Deborah Shouse's writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Reader's Digest, Newsweek, Woman's Day, Hemispheres, Family Circle, Spirituality & Health, Chicago Tribune, and Ms. She writes a weekly column on love stories for the Kansas City Star, and has co-authored Working Woman's Communications Survival Guide, which is in its fifth printing, and Antiquing for Dummies. She has written several memoirs and business books and has been featured in more than a dozen Chicken Soup books.

Creating Moments of Joy - Jolene Brackey

The beloved best seller has been revised and expanded for the fifth edition. Jolene Brackey has a vision: that we will soon look beyond the challenges of Alzheimer's disease to focus more of our energies on creating moments of joy. When people have short-term memory loss, their lives are made up of moments. We are not able to create perfectly wonderful days for people with dementia or Alzheimer's, but we can create perfectly wonderful moments, moments that put a smile on their faces and a twinkle in their eyes. Five minutes later, they will not remember what we did or said, but the feeling that we left them with will linger. The new edition of Creating Moments of Joy is filled with more practical advice sprinkled with hope, encouragement, new stories, and generous helpings of humor. In this volume, Brackey reveals that our greatest teacher is having cared for and loved someone with Alzheimer's and that often what we have most to learn about is ourselves.

Dr. Ruth's Guide for the Alzheimer's Caregiver - Dr. Ruth Westheimer - with Pierre A. Lehu

Living with dying - Jahnna Beecham & Katie Ortlip, RN, LCSW

This easy-to-use guide for caregiving instructs you how to:

Have the conversation
Navigate the emotional and spiritual journey
Control pain
Address symptoms
Work with hospice
Care for yourself
Get your loved one's affairs in order

"When losing a loved one, we are a loss: How do we talk about it? How do we make business and financial plans? How do we face the final hours? This book is the one book we need: respectful, experiential, richly researched, joyful." Barbara Brownell Grogan, former editor-in-chief, National Geographic