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Cover art for Own Your Care by Dr. Jeanne Lee

“Own Your Care” by Jeanne Lee

4 out of 5 stars. Own Your Care by Jeanne Lee, MD Is a comprehensive book for both patients and caregivers covering many aspects of life with a chronic illness. The thing I liked most about the book is that the author focuses on helping the reader explore the idea of quality of life vs quantity of life. This is something that I feel like many people don’t consider enough. The author provides concrete examples of how different people have different ideas of what this means. She also highlights the differences between palliative care and hospice care; encouraging families to explore the help of palliative care specialists which are often underutilized. The book’s chapters are organized in a logical order going from receiving a diagnosis to end of life concerns. The chapters can be read in any order though, depending on where you are in the healthcare journey. Within each chapter are subsections and bolded bullet point questions geared towards both the patient and family members. I like that there is also an appendix listing these questions, a glossary of terms, and resources for further information. My only criticism is that the book is very text-heavy; I wish there was a bit more color in the form of photos, illustrations, charts or diagrams. Anything to help break up the long blocks of text and bullet pointed lists. Overall, I’d’ I recommend this book to both patients and family/friends of those living with chronic or complex health issues.

Cover art for the book "The Accidental Caregiver"

“The Accidental Caregiver” by Kimberly Fraser

5 out of 5 stars. The Accidental Caregiver by Kimberly Fraser is an honest and unflinching look at the realities of being a family caregiver. I was interested in reading this book for two reasons. First, I am a physically disabled adult who relies on my family for caregiving and I wanted to see how the author portrayed the care recipient. Second, my parents were recently thrown into caregiving for my grandmother with Alzheimer’s and I felt like this book might be a good resource for them. Overall I am impressed with the variety of topics discussed by the author. While some of the vignettes were repeated across chapters I think they helped reinforce the concepts and ideas presented. They helped make it “real” for the reader. I also appreciated that the author provided concrete strategies for caregivers to utilize throughout their journey. There are also policy suggestions included in many chapters which, as someone interested in advocacy I appreciated and thought was cool. 

Cover art for the book Living in the Moment by Dr. Elizabeth Landsverk and Heather Milar

“Living in the Moment” by Elizabeth Landsverk

4 out of 5 stars. Living in the Moment: A Guide to Overcoming Challenges and Finding Moments of Joy in Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias by Dr. Elizabeth Landsverk is an easy to read, practical guide for the family navigating this journey and focuses on helping to create the best life you can for your loved one with dementia. While I am not the primary caregiver for my loved I still found it really informative. The book isn’t super depth but goes just deep enough to serve as a good reference, especially when it comes to understanding the types of medications your loved one may be taking or offered. The caveat is since I’m not a pharmacist, physician, or other type of provider I can’t say with 100% certainty that all the information is correct. I would hope so given that the author is a physician specializing in this field but you never know. Therefore it’s always best to talk with your own care team when making decisions about medications (and procedures, tests etc.). Something that I really liked about the book is the author emphasized making decisions with (and when needed, for) your loved one that essentially boils down improving or maintaining quality vs quantity of life.

Cover art for the picture book "Why Do I Feel So Worried?"

“Why Do I Feel So Worried?: A Kid’s Guide to Coping with Big Emotions” by Tammi Kirkness

5 out of 5 stars. This is a book I wish had been around when I was a kid. I struggled with anxiety and even though I loved to talk, I think I had trouble explaining what I was worried about sometimes. I appreciate the fact that this book is kid oriented but doesn’t feel ”babyish”. It seeks to validate the child’ feelings while providing concrete steps and actions they can take to alleviate their fears. I also like the notes at the bottom of many of the pages providing more background information on the topic or actions described. For example, the term catastrophizing is explained on one page. There is a section at the back of the book with specific affirmation statements parents/adults can share and model. There are also examples of tactics such as grounding and an adorable story that can be used for practicing meditation. There are also general resource links that parents or adults can reference for additional information. All in all, I could see this book being a great tool for parents/caregivers/family members to work through with a child who is struggling with lots of feelings. I could also see it being used by counselors, psychologists and social workers when working with kids. In these uncertain times, helping kids to understand how they are feeling and how to handle these feelings is critical. The book even includes pages about reacting to local or worldwide events!