The Essential Family Guide to Caring for Older People - Deborah Stone #LoveBooksTours

I'm so pleased to be on the book tour for this important book today. http://www.maturethinking.co.uk/

Description

No one wants to think about getting older. It's true. At any age, when things are moving along normally day to day and everyone seems fit and well, there seems no reason to think about future problems that your friends and relatives might (and probably will) come across as they age. In fact, it might even seem a little morbid to think such thoughts, or possibly even tempting fate?

Yet there will come a time when you must raise these issues and, ideally, this should be before any problems arise. The Essential Family Guide to Caring for Older People is the ultimate source of information and help for families with care responsibilities. Deborah Stone draws on her extensive experience working in elder care to offer practical advice on every aspect of the field indepth.

Topics range from how to get help immediately, legal information, care funding options, a guide to useful technology and advice on the main physical and mental health issues that affect older people. Plus guidance is given on dealing with social services and ensuring you choose the right care for your situations. Crucially, the book also offers help on how to cope as a carer with practical advice on juggling family, work and your caring responsibilities while looking after yourself.

Review

What an absolute gem of a book this is. I will certainly be keeping it on hand to dip into from time to time. Written in plain English and easy to understand, the book is well laid out and has cross referencing for when a subject is repeated or crosses over into another area. It also gives links to helpful websites. I liked that the first chapter is "What to do if you need help NOW". The rest you can read later on.

This book is not only useful for caring for older people, it's useful for those who are getting a little older too. Not much fun to read about all the things that can happen to you as you age, but great to be aware and know what to do or not to do as the case may be. Much of the book resonated with me. There are reminders about keeping calm, especially for instance when an older relative can't hear you.

I found the "How to register a death section" very insightful. I have done this in the past but as it was over 20 years ago a lot has changed. For one thing you need a lot more copies of the death certificate these days. This section is a useful reference tool and helpful when you may not be at your best to think of everything that needs to be done. 

As well as covering the visible signs of aging there is a section on mental health, anxiety and depression which is important. Not all symptoms are visible and this is a good reference to read and digest.

I am giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. It's certainly one for the reference shelf either to help others or if you are over 55 yourself. My thanks to #LoveBooksTours for a copy to review.

You can buy your copy at  https://amzn.to/2Nf4PEk