Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Victor Mancini, a medical-school dropout, is an antihero for our deranged times. Needing to pay elder care for his mother, Victor has devised an ingenious scam: he pretends to choke on pieces of food while dining in upscale restaurants. He then allows himself to be “saved” by fellow patrons who, feeling responsible for Victor’s life, go on to send checks to support him. When he’s not pulling this stunt, Victor... (more)

Elder Rage, or Take My Father... Please!: How to Survive Caring for Aging Parents

Elder Rage, or Take My Father... Please!: How to Survive Caring for Aging Parents

by Jacqueline Marcell

A riveting, often humorous, non-fiction novel that chronicles Jacqueline Marcell's trials and tribulations, and eventual success at managing the care of her aging parents. Elder Rage is also an extensive self-help book with solutions for effective management, medically and behaviorally, of challenging elders who resist care. Includes answers to difficult "how to" questions like: getting obstinate elders to... (more)

Bucking the Sarge (Readers Circle)

by Christopher Paul Curtis

Luther T. Farrell has got to get out of Flint, Michigan. As his best friend Sparky says, “Flint’s nothing but the Titanic.” And his mother, a.k.a. the Sarge, says, “Take my advice and stay off the sucker path.” The Sarge milked the system to build an empire of slum housing and group homes. Luther’s just one of the many people trapped in the Sarge’s Evil Empire—but he’s about to bust out. If Luther wins the... (more)

Mothering Mother: A Daughter's Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir

Mothering Mother: A Daughter's Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir

by Carol D. O'Dell

Compelling and heartrending, this personal memoir chronicles the author's decision not to put her mother, who has Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, in "one of those homes" and relays the far-reaching consequences this choice has on her entire family. Detailing the challenges of reversing roles and learning to mother one's own mother, this refreshing and entertaining autobiography will help those struggling with... (more)

Slow Dancing at Death's Door

by Amy Baker

She wiped away your tears when you skinned your knee. he taught you how to drive a stick shift. Together, they raised you to be the person you are today. They seemed invincible, but now things have changed—they're older, a little frail, and facing a new stage of life. Your parents aren't the only ones faced with change. You know there are adjustments you need to make to be prepared mentally, emotionally,... (more)

At Close of Day

by Joseph Bentz

At Close of Day follows the intricate unraveling—and ultimate restoration—of a modern family after their aging father lets slip a secret he has held close for more than fifty years. Reeling from the implications of their father’s confession, Hugh Morris’s grown children face the trauma of rewriting their family’s history, and their future, now that the secret has come to light.

Are Your Parents Driving You Crazy? How to Resolve the Most Common Dilemmas with Aging Parents

Are Your Parents Driving You Crazy? How to Resolve the Most Common Dilemmas with Aging Parents

by Joseph A. Ilardo

What do you do when your aging-but usually reasonable-parents seem to dig in their heels and refuse to "see reason"? when your aging mother can't get along with the home health aide? when your father refuses to stop driving? when your sister won't help out? The co-authors, both family therapists, give you a simple problem-solving model for working through any dilemma you and your aging parents may run into,... (more)

Blood Tastes Lousy With Scotch

by Robin C. Westmiller

Anyone who has vacationed in the beautiful Catskill Mountains, knows the Village of Ellenville, and no visit to Ellenville was complete without a stop in Cohen's Quality Bakery; "Home of the World Famous Raisin Pumpernickel". Cohen s Bakery owners Ruby and Reginia Cohen struggled together for over fifty years to build a lasting legacy for their grandchildren and financial security for themselves in their... (more)

Gertrude's Cupboard: Recapturing Minds Stolen by Disease

Gertrude's Cupboard: Recapturing Minds Stolen by Disease

by Elizabeth Cockey

What do Alzheimer's, suicide, and poverty have to do with hope, laughter, and renewal? Elizabeth Cockey reveals that the connection in this incredible story of triumph and healing. Cockey's experience with her son’s disease, complicated by financial problems, led her to question the direction of her life. Yet, when one 90-year-old woman, suffering from dementia, shows her there is a higher power in the universe,... (more)

Dancing In The Void

by Robert, Edward Levin

Imagine living in a place where the only daylight is a hallway of recessed bulbs, where clouds gathering are but shadows looming, and the songs of birds, the muffled sounds of voices lurking. Then imagine the nights - the quiet hours that open the hearts of wounded souls, set fire to thought and deed, braid nightmare and dream into single strands of despair, and above all, above all, scream loneliness, a sound... (more)

Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer's: One Daughter's Hopeful Story

Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer's: One Daughter's Hopeful Story

by Lauren Kessler

One journalist’s riveting—and surprisingly hopeful—in-the-trenches look at Alzheimer’s, the disease that claimed her mother’s life Like many loved ones of Alzheimer’s sufferers, Lauren Kessler was devastated by the ravaging disease that seemed to turn her mother into another person before claiming her life altogether. To deal with the pain of her loss, and to better understand the confounding aspects... (more)

Standing the Watch: The Greatest Gift

by R.J. Brown

In this expanded second edition of STANDING THE WATCH: The Greatest Gift, R. J. Brown weaves excerpts from the medical log she had to keep for the State with memories, e-mails, essays & useful lists, as she stands The Watch for her beloved Poppa's final days. At 89 years of age, Lincoln Brown, in a Seattle hospital is told by his doctor that he has only three months left to live. Lincoln reminds his... (more)

Creating Moments of Joy for the Person with Alzheimer's or Dementia [CREATING MOMENTS OF JOY FO]

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: elder care

Choke

by Chuck Palahniuk