Product Description

Sandwiched between the escalating needs of their aging relatives and their own children, today's adult children are caught in an intergenerational squeeze. This self-help book, highly readable and upbeat, with readily identifiable case examples, speaks clearly and directly to Boomers and other caregivers, addressing the feelings that come into play within themselves and their family system.

Liberally sprinkled with readable, easy to identify clinical examples, Aging Parents, Aging Children helps the reader to gain a foothold on their own very personal situation by identifying and shoring up their own strengths. The authors help readers to understand the various contemporary family configurations with their intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics. They explain how our respective belief systems shape our actions in interacting with aging parents. Completely up-to-date research findings in an action-oriented context support practical, easy-to-apply information to help families to cope better during this potentially stressful period of life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #319766 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Review
An extraordinary book that offers a one stop shop for all the information you need about the golden years for the elderly as well as the family members and caretakers. O -- Patricia Pitta, Ph.D

I enthusiastically recommend this book for both families and professionals. Aging Parents, Aging Children is a great read full of meaty examples, slices of real life from an array of family and caregiving situations, which are not only inherently interesting and fun to read but also help guide families and professionals alike who are grappling with challenging issues. Thanks to the authors' decades of experience, this book provides a painless way to gain insights to help with one's own life, as well as some detailed practical ideas for "what to do and how to do it". -- Nancy B. Emerson Lombardo, Ph.D., Boston University School of Medicine

I unequivocally suggest that you read this book (regardless of your current family responsibilities and burdens) and then casually leave it out in the living room for the rest of your family to experience and learn from. -- Lee Robbins Gardner, M.D., Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

It is a win- win book and exactly at the right time. -- Cathy Cress, MSW

About the Author
Miriam K. Aronson, Ed.D. and Marcella Bakur Weiner, Ph.D. are respected authors, teachers and practitioners in the area of gerontology. Dr. Aronson, a founder of the National Alzheimer's Association, is on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and has many publications in gerontology. She has lectured nationally and internationally and has been interviewed by major media. She has a private geriatric care management practice and consults to geriatric service providers including hospitals, medical practices, nursing homes, assisted living, and adult medical day care. Dr. Weiner has conducted workshops in the U.S.A. and in most countries abroad, is published widely, including The Starr Weiner Report on Sex and Sexuality that attracted national attention, including interviews by numerous newspapers, magazines and media. As a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Weiner is an active member of the Media Committee. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City and maintains a private psychotherapy practice.

Customer Reviews

Intergenerational interdependence
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (10/07)

Drs. Miriam K. Aronoson and Marcella Bakur Weiner have written "Aging Parents, Aging Children" for the average person faced with a care-giving challenge. The book is filled with practical examples and dramatic scenarios to help the reader identify with others who have, or are experiencing, similar problems or challenges.

Early chapters include helpful information pointing out diversity among families, differences in philosophy, beliefs, personality traits, and family dynamics. These all play a part in the approach chosen to provide the best possible care.

As changes in physical health, emotional stability, or mental faculties, take their toll, it is important to begin an assessment process. This will help the family or caregiver size up the current condition through diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and aftercare needs. Excellent charts and tables provide an overview and checklist for this assessment and setting up a plan of care. Once this has been done immediate concerns, logistics, legal issues, and finances all come into play.

I especially appreciated the chapter dedicated to discussing dementia and Alzheimer's disease and the suggestions for placement versus home care. Symptoms, causes, and treatments are all considered in this informational and helpful presentation.

A concern often overlooked is the care and welfare of the caregiver. This chapter is of particular importance to everyone reading the book. Self-care is an important part of the process of renewal, nurture, and balance. The final chapter titled "Demystifying the Maze" is a helpful glossary of important elder care language.

Internationally acclaimed as experts in the area of elder care, Aronson and Weiner, collaborate to bring the reader insight, confidence, compassion and hope in caring for their loved one. The authors assist the reader faced with navigating the maze of systems and services, the challenge of relationships, resource limitations, and expectations of family and the importance of self help.

Thorough in presentation, written in an easy-to-understand style, "Aging Parents, Aging Children" is a practical prescription for an escalating pandemic of eldercare challenges.

A must read for the sandwich generation
As someone who has worked with the aged extensively, and familiar with the literature on it, I find this book absolutely outstanding. Its handling of family turmoil, love and all that goes on for the older adult and their children, the decisions of when to place someone in a facility, the perceptions and misperceptions of dementia are done with clarity and obvious longterm experience of the authors. A gem, this book is most highly recommended.

A Great Unique Eldercare Book
This is a wonderful "hands-on" text that delineates and clarifies the experiences of both the aging parents and family members, particularly the care-givers. It is clear and sensitively-written and every aspect from diagnosis to planning and placement is comprehensively presented with excellent examples demonstrating "the tightrope that familes and providers often have to walk." Focus on the caregivers and their need to maintain a balanced life adds a critically-important dimension often overlooked in eldercare books. A must read for everyone with aging parents.