When Caregiving Calls: Guidance as You Care for a Parent, Spouse, or Aging Relative

WINNER--2020 Best Indie Book Awards, Non-Fiction: Caregiving

Caring for a parent, spouse, or relative who cannot care for themselves due to age, infirmity, or illness is one of the noblest human activities. It's also one of the most stressful, posing challenges that can be painful, confusing, frustrating, and deeply rewarding-sometimes all at once. When Caregiving Calls is an invitation to a deep conversation about caregiving and its meaning for you.

Aaron Blight has lived the caregiving experience many ways-as a family caregiver for a mother-in-law struggling with brain cancer as it stole her mental clarity and ultimately her life; as the owner of a home care company that supported thousands of families living their own versions of the same journey; and as a researcher, lecturer, and consultant traveling the world to learn from family caregivers and their professional helpers.

Now he shares his insights in eighteen brief, thoughtful chapters that examine the many facets of caregiving. He explores how caregiving reshapes family relationships, challenges comfortable assumptions, and stresses your ability to manage your time, energy, and emotions. He shows how the changing mental and physical state of a loved one can lead to growing vulnerability, need, and loneliness on the part of care receiver and caregiver alike. He shares stories-poignant, funny, and often inspiring-that vividly capture the unique daily realities of the caregiving life. And he offers candid, practical advice that can help family caregivers do a better job of coping with the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual challenges they face.

Author: Aaron Blight
Publisher: Rivertowns Books
Published: 10/13/2020
Pages: 238
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.62lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781733914147


Review Citation(s):
PW Booklife Reviews 09/28/2020
Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2020

About the Author
Blight, Aaron: - Aaron Blight, Ed.D., is an international speaker and consultant on caregiving, aging, and health care. He is the founder of Caregiving Kinetics, a firm that offers caregiving consulting throughout the world, and has been recognized as a Top 100 Healthcare Leader by the International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare. Aaron's passion for supporting caregivers is rooted in his personal experience as a family caregiver; his professional background as the owner of a large home-care company and as a leader at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and his study of caregiving as a phenomenon of social science. Aaron serves as an adjunct professor at Shenandoah University, an honorary board member of the Well Spouse Association, and an advisory board member of the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging. He holds a doctorate degree from The George Washington University, a master's degree from the University of Baltimore, and a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University. Aaron and his wife, Jessica, live outside of Washington, D.C., in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. They have four children and two grandchildren. Aaron enjoys exercise, music, travel, cats, and ice cream. Dr. Blight speaks with groups all over the world about caregiving. In workshops and conference talks, he invites participants to think deeply about the meaning and significance of their individual caregiving experiences. He attends caregiver support groups to facilitate discussions related to his book, When Caregiving Calls: Guidance as You Care for a Parent, Spouse, or Aging Relative. If you'd like to invite Aaron to your group meeting, please visit his website at www.caregivingkinetics.com.