The essential book for anyone with an aging parent*
(* That’s pretty much everyone…)
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As your parents get older, you will have conversations that start like this:
Should my mom move into a retirement home?
Does Dad have dementia?
How on earth do we get the car keys away from our stepmom?!
This book is about how to have twenty-seven of life’s trickiest kitchen table conversations with the older adults in your life—and still like each other enough to sit down to dinner afterwards.
Laura Tamblyn Watts has spent her entire career helping older adults age well. In this book, she shares experiences that have helped adult kids and caregivers navigate the challenges that come with caring for aging parents.
Tamblyn Watts outfits readers with 27 prompts and roadmaps for informed, honest conversations with their aging parent—or family members, health care providers, and other professionals. She covers questions like:
Does my parent need help around the house?
What kind of medical issues should we look out for?
Do I really need to help my parent if they’re toxic?
How can we age-proof our parents’ home so they can keep living at home?
How can my family share the caregiving load?
This is practical and straight-forward advice delivered with humor and caring for the stressed-out caregiver and the apprehensive older adult facing big changes.
Praise for Let’s Talk About Aging Parents
“The book is about helping kids and parents talk through issues such as getting your parents help around the house, downsizing and moving them into a retirement or long-term care home. The theme is simple: Prepare now, before hard choices must be made later under great stress… What you’ll hear as you work through this book is the voice of experience.”
Rob Carrick
Personal Finance columnist for The Globe and Mail
“Being thrust into the role of caregiver for an aging parent (or two) can be challenging, overwhelming even. There are so many questions and so much fear. Thankfully, Laura Tamblyn Watts provides many of the answers—guiding us from ‘The Talk’ about moving from the family home to a care home, to the sensitive discussion about whether it’s time to stop driving, to the joys of toileting. This is a book whose practical tips will save you many a sleepless night.”
André Picard
Health columnist for The Globe and Mail and author of Neglected No More: The Urgent Need To Improve The Lives of Canada’s Elders in the Wake of a Pandemic
“With her characteristic wit and panache, Laura Tamblyn Watts had me laughing, shouting, weeping, and reading with my jaw dropped. She tells real, relatable stories and offers concrete actions that all of us can take. I can’t wait to share this book with my friends and family.”
Gregor Sneddon
Executive Director of HelpAge Canada