Although Carol Bradley Bursack’s offering was published more than a decade ago, any dementia Caregiver who has yet to read Minding our Elders will appreciate its applicability to their current struggles. The book is akin to a bible for Caregiving.
Bursack is a Caregiver’s Caregiver, in the sense that her stories include, not only candid revelations about her numerous experiences caring for her own loved ones but, the stories of some 20 other Caregivers she met along her decades long journey. She reached out to these peers, lovingly interviewing them, and tells their stories with the same great respect and vivid detail that she tells her own.
The reader will appreciate the effort Bursack puts into describing scenes in a way that take us into the space with her. One can almost feel the chill of the deep snow through which she walks to meet one Caregiver, near her home in Fargo, North Dakota. Or smell the coffee at the café and feel the warmth of the fireplace by which they sit.
While Minding Our Elders is an easy read that flows smoothly from story to story, the work is used as a textbook in colleges across the country for gerontology and nursing home administration classes. The all-so-intimate stories must be a great assistance to students in seeing and feeling the real conflicts faced by dementia Caregivers, as well as their Care recipients.
Bursack is rightly regarded as an expert in her field and, in addition to Minding Our Elders, has published more than two thousand articles nationally, contributed to numerous other books and has two award-winning blogs.
Minding Our Elders is must have for Caregivers. It provides comfort and certainly the ever-important reminder that we are not alone in our struggle. The book is available at a number of retailers as well as on her blog:
Sissy, I’m honored by your wonderful review of Minding Our Elders, especially since you are, yourself, such a fine writer. You know caregiving and the hunger that caregivers feel for information on how other caregivers get through this time of life. That was the underlying reason behind writing my book. At the time there were few resources. Imagine! No online caregiving support and few in-person groups. Few books that covered the subject. One agent told me that they loved my book and my writing but “no one was interested in this topic.”
Obviously, this agent was not yet in tune with the boom just around the corner. Now there are thousands of books, many on Alzheimer’s. Minding Our Elders represents Alzheimer’s caregivers and my own experience with my dad’s surgically caused dementia, but it also represents caregivers overall. The book that I’m currently working on will draw upon these many years of caregiver growth and my own education from readers, friends and personal experience.
Blessings, Sissy. Your words made me smile.
Thank you so much, Carol for your response here and all you do to help other Caregivers with your varied experiences.
This morning I was feeling one regret about the review. I want to recommend to readers that they forego the digital version of Minding Our Elders and buy a printed copy. It’s certainly a good reference book one would want close by on a shelf.
Bless you, Carol!