The Caregivers: A Support Group's Stories of Slow Loss, Courage, and Love
What started out as a straightforward research project about a support group for people who provide care for ailing loved ones soon morphed into a far more intimate involvement than journalist Lake anticipated. How could it not? Judging from her sensitive and insightful narrative of their daily fortunes and, more often, misfortunes, the caregivers portrayed here exude a compassionate demeanor that is contagious. Certainly Lake’s experience and thus her book are highly relevant. An estimated 17  percent of employed Americans are currently caring for an ailing relative. Of course, reckoning those ubiquitous baby boomers, support groups like this can only grow exponentially more important. And not just due to sheer numbers but also because of the heroism—her word—that is required to meet the new reality of a parent or spouse slowly slipping away via dementia or Alzheimer’s. These, then, are snapshots of a new kind of hero. Not a first responder but a constant responder to the shifting needs of an ailing/aging loved one. It’s as if Lake’s caregivers are saying, “Heed our words, and learn.” --Donna Chavez