November 26 , 2013
How will you care for your elderly parents? Matthews and Blank provide the answers.
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Sunbury Press has released Barbara G. Matthews' and Barbara Trainin Blank's self-help book "What to Do about Mama?: A Guide to Caring for Aging Family Members." About the Book: Everyone is a potential caregiver. Fifty-four million Americans already serve as unpaid caregivers to family members, and that number is likely to grow as the population continues to age. Two-thirds of these caregivers are women—many of them in the “sandwich generation," simultaneously caring for both children and older family members. This book offers guidance to present and future caregivers—based on the real-life experiences of the authors and other caregivers who have openly and honestly shared their joys and heartaches. It isn't a book by “experts,” but by people in the trenches—to help you develop realistic goals and expectations and strategies to keep your sanity through the trials and tribulations of caregiving. Your experiences may be similar to or different from those of the caregivers featured here, but their stories are likely to resonate with anyone who has cared for a loved one—or might. Table of Contents: Introduction: Why Write this Book? Chapter One: Barbara M.’s Caregiving Story Chapter Two: Barbara T.B.’s Caregiving Story Chapter Three: Assuming Caregiving Responsibilities Chapter Four: The Roles and Responsibilities of Caregivers Chapter Five: The Emotional and Physical Impact of Caregiving Chapter Six: Family Relations Chapter Seven: Finances Chapter Eight: Residual Difficulties Chapter Nine: Positives and Negatives of Caregiving: Would You Do It Again? Chapter Ten: Caregiver Recommendations Conclusion: You Don’t Always Get What You Expect Caregiver Questionnaire About the Authors: Barbara G. Matthews has had a patchwork quilt of professional career experiences. For nearly five years, she served as an Assessor/Care Manager for the Area Agency on Aging of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Her main responsibility was to visit seniors in their homes to administer a comprehensive assessment, which determined their needs and eligibility for services. Matthews then “retired” to become a full-time caregiver when her mother-in-law moved into her home, an experience that motivated her to write this book. Prior to that, Matthews was literacy coordinator for a Jobs Training Partnership Act agency. Over seven years, she was instrumental in building a thriving learning center program, which included Adult Literacy, English as a Second Language, Adult Basic Education, General Educational Development, and Adult High School Diploma programs. She was also a Life Skills Instructor with the Dauphin County Prison for four years. Matthews graduated from Kent State University in 1969 with a degree in Elementary Education. She also attended one year of graduate school at Kent State and was a graduate assistant in the sociology department. Her graduate education was cut short, both by the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970, and her marriage in June of that year. After college, Matthews taught 4th grade for a year, then began raising a family as a full-time homemaker. She returned to full-time employment when her children were in their pre-teen and teen years. The mother of three and grandmother of nine lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with her husband of forty-three years. Barbara Trainin Blank is an independent writer and editor who heads her own company, Blank Page Writing, now based in Maryland. A writer for newspapers, magazines, and web sites, in areas as diverse as the arts, health and medicine, religion, and societal trends, she has contributed to Health, Emergency Medicine, Hadassah, Business2Business, and B magazines, as well as to Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Patriot-News, and Carlisle Sentinel, among others. Trainin Blank also provides editorial services to agencies, businesses, and individuals and has edited several books, including for the U.S. Army War College, an interior designer, nonprofit consultant, and major NYC social service organization. A graduate of Barnard College in New York City, her hometown, she also writes plays, several of which have been presented in several local and regional theaters. Trainin Blank is married and has two children. What to Do about Mama?: A Guide to Caring for Aging Family Members Authored by Barbara G. Matthews & Barbara Trainin Blank List Price: $19.95 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Black & White on White paper 230 pages Sunbury Press, Inc. ISBN-13: 978-1620063156 ISBN-10: 1620063158 BISAC: Family & Relationships / Eldercare Soon to be availble on Kindle, Nook and Sony eReader. For more information, please see: http://www.sunburypressstore.com/What-to-Do-about-Mama-97...