My Mother's Hip: Lessons from the World of Eldercare
"I would love to use [this] book with a class of gerontology and public policy students to launch a discussion of what a better care system would entail and how we might harness caregiver anger to achieve it. I'd also like to see narratives like this in lots of adult discussion groups in churches and synagogues, so family caregivers to those with serious and eventually fatal chronic illness start their work better prepared." Medical Humanities Review "[T]his very readable book offers a unique view of the effect that illness has on the entire fabric of a patient's life. It will be of interest to both physicians and non-physicians involved in elder care, as well as to the elders themselves." The New England Journal of Medicine "the book reads like a novel, [and] is very skilfully written." The Senior Times "In My Mother's Hip, Luisa Margolies has written two powerful books in one. The chapters of her caregiving experience read like a novel, one that more and more Americans are living every day. Her alternating chapters, called 'Lessons,' build a compelling argument for fixing--and humanizing--the fragmented system of long-term care in the United States. Every older American, family caregiver, and provider of health and social services should read this remarkable book." --Gloria Cavanaugh, President and CEO, American Society on Aging "In My Mother's Hip, Luisa Margolies seamlessly integrates medical information with an intensely personal story that includes the frustration and fear that result from caring--and not always knowing how to care--for people you love. She explores end-of-life issues with the certainty of one who's been there. She knows how elusive the right answers can be and in their absence, how necessary are the qualities of patience, love, and understanding." --Nick Taylor, author of A Necessary End  "My Mother's Hip should be mandatory reading for all those who treat hip fracture patients as well as for the families of the patients. Luisa Margolies has captured the true impact of a hip fracture--on the patient, their family, and on our society." --Joseph D. Zuckerman, M.D., Professor and Chairman, NYU-Hospital for Joint Diseases, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery  "My Mother's Hip is a splendid and troubling book. Two of the great problems that come from medical progress are the use of technologies that can be less than perfect and the care of the chronically ill elderly by their children. This book is a wonderful exploration of what it means to be a dutiful daughter and a troubled surrogate decision-maker. Luisa Margolies' skills as an anthropologist bring those dilemmas to life in a compelling and readable fashion." --Daniel Callahan, Director, International Program, The Hastings Center