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Caring for aging parents - a challenge and a blessing.
Loving Zelda: A Stepdaughter's Caregiving Journal explores the emotional and practical facets of the role-reversal that late-life caregiving often entails, with a good dose of the humor and warmth that can also be a part of the experience.
The author’s father, Bill, a retired psychologist, and stepmother, Zelda, had enjoyed absorbing hobbies and eagerly traveled the globe together for most of their 32-year marriage. Now Zelda—former organizer of Fourth of July kitchen-band marches—is fading into the confusion of dementia, and Bill’s physical challenges threaten his independence. They need help. Sue Anne Kirkham takes you along as she weaves background history into present day reality, sharing helpful insights in the process. Loving Zelda is a moving human-interest memoir with appeal for all audiences. Once you get to know Bill and Zelda, you'll want to follow them through every dramatic turn of events.
Loving Zelda Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Real feelings, real moments . . . more in common than we think
Kirkham's gift for clever description and turns of phrase will pull any reader into her world with cordial welcome. Once there, the reader may be surprised to learn that our worlds are smaller than we think. This book will have wide appeal with anyone who cares for a family member, be it with a disability or mental health concern, aging, or just plain enjoys a heartfelt look into the lives of others. Kirkham keeps it real and shares a full spectrum of emotion, difficult at times, but always with an undercurrent of faith and hope that binds it all together.
5.0 out of 5 stars
“Loving Zelda” is an honest, compassionate, often humorous look at what it means to take on the role of caregiver to aging parents. As many of us enter into this uncharted territory, I appreciated SueAnne Kirkham’s insights, helpful navigation, what to do and what NOT to do. This is a thought provoking, enjoyable, emotional, helpful, real and relatable read!
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is no pedantic record of strangers you don't know or care about. Through descriptive narrative and actual journal entries, the author brings them to life with colorful details of their everydays and their back stories, rich with funny and poignant quotes, both moving and hilarious moments. Kirkham also draws you into the complicated issues--emotional, mental, spiritual--that surface both in the parents and the daughter as they navigate the end of life together. This book tells it how it is: an unpredictable, painful journey sweetened by love and reconciliation.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A story about the journey of three people as they navigate the end of life, dementia, and taking care of people who once took care of you. The first-hand account includes heartbreak, humor, and what it's like to let go. Makes you think about what life is like now, how it was before and what it will be like in the future — a compelling and enjoyable read.
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