I just finished this article by Jonathan Rauch in the Atlantic Monthly, “Letting Go of My Father.” If you’re a caregiver, read it. If you’re a senior, read it. And if you’re a politician or business owner or health care provider or social worker, read it.
When Lynn Peel and I started thinking about Maine Senior Guide, we were thinking about this exact problem: caregiver isolation and lack of resource knowledge. But Jonathan Rauch has made it personal in a way I have not experienced. Rauch moved his dad from Arizona to Washington DC and then tried to both discover and answer the questions about providing care for an aging and ill loved one, until his own life suffered . He writes:
“I got advice and tips: mix coffee with yoghurt if he likes the taste of coffee but has trouble swallowing it; here’s the name of a geriatric case manager who’s really good. This kind of practical wisdom was useful. But why, I began to wonder, did I have to collect it on the street?
“I got amateur counseling: take care of yourself first; don’t try for perfection. Good, tough, compassionate advice, but randomly proffered. How much more was there that I needed to hear but that no one happened to tell me?”
If Maine Senior Guide’s resources and information supports caregivers like Rauch, or points to helpful people or organizations, or helps seniors live more independently and easily, we’ll be successful.