A Bitter-Sweet Season: Caring for Our Aging Parents — Jane Gross
A Bitter-Sweet Season captures the raw emotion, physical hardships, the power of family dynamics and challenges experienced when making difficult medical and life decisions in the care of an ailing parent. Yet, Jane Gross provides a refreshing perspective on a topic many are reluctant to engage: becoming your parent’s parent in the end-of-life management process. Utilizing the strength of personal narratives and storytelling, the author shares her triumphs and shortcomings her family encountered during the final 3 years of her mother’s life. 
Ms. Gross’ book is rich in anecdotal messages and well researched information related to caregiving responsibilities. By integrating lessons from memorable experiences with the nuances of taking care of an aging loved one, she creates what she calls her own “Caregiving for Dummies”. Ms. Gross’ first-hand guide covers many unforeseen obstacles to elder care, including: identifying the appropriate care facility when moving loved ones closer to home, the importance of having a primary care physician, and what is or is not covered by Medicare in assisted living programs.
This decision-making process is daunting and can cause immense stress on individuals and their families. A Bitter-Sweet Season offers a perspective into the trials and tribulations of caring for aging parents and loved ones. Emphasized throughout the work is the importance of preparation, planning, and effective communication, all of which ultimately benefit you, your sibling(s), care providers and most important the ill person. These experiences reveal that taking each day one at a time is integral to maintaining balance and control. Enjoying the moments together, embracing times of humor and joy are equally important as the more challenging times; and Ms. Gross shows that even the challenges can be opportunities to fortify existing relationships and offer advocacy opportunities to get higher-quality care for your loved one. As Ms. Gross writes, “most bad decisions are made in the heat of a crisis, when alarm and ignorance collide. I can tell you that it is usually possible to slow things down and demand the time to consider alternatives calmly and deliberately.”
A Bitter-Sweet Season is not exclusively a guide to caring for our parents but ourselves too. A myriad of topics in the process of caring for ailing parents and loved ones are included but not limited to medical issues, health services, financial responsibilities, quality of life, spiritual/religious needs and familial relationships.
Join the hundreds of thousands of monthly supporters and visit: The New York Times-The New Old Age http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/author/jane-gross/ for more on aging.
Call to Action: Raising awareness of advance illness issues as they affect the American public and professional communities is critical. Do you have a question, book or article relating to advanced illness that you would like featured on C-TAC’s blog? Please email Brendan Sinatro at: [email protected].
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Brendan J. Sinatro, M.P.H. Public Engagement Volunteer – Behavior Change Coordinator
Brendan received his Master of Public Health degree from the George Washington University. After volunteering as a Patient Liaison with the Geisinger Medical System, he grew fascinated with the field of health promotion. Scholastic pursuits and professional experiences have equipped Brendan with a detailed understanding of the core competencies of health communication theory and practice; social marketing campaign planning, development, implementation and evaluation. He revers the rigor of data and embraces the importance of accuracy when tailoring communication platforms to execute media relation’s initiatives.