Going All The Way Round
The Diary of A Reluctant Caregiver
by
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In April, 1995, the year following my parents' move to the nursing home, I brought Mother some fresh daffodils for their room. I threw away the ones I'd brought two days earlier. They had turned brown at the edges, and I freshened the water. In spring and summer I tried to bring flowers every time I visited. Dad liked to feel the silkiness of the tulips and the veins of the daffodil petals. When I came in with the flowers, I took one to Mother and had her smell it and touch it.
"Oh, it's a flower," and she smiled at me.
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About the Book
Although many readers will find Going All the Way Round a guide to the care of their own aging parents, it is primarily the story of the author's ambivalence about her care of her parents as they aged. She hadn't expected to be a nurse. She found all kinds of surprises in dealing with her mother and father and the demands of care-giving. For example, there were her attempts to hire aides for her dad who wouldn't steal the silverware or bring their horses or husbands to work with them, and her mother's forgotten savings accounts.
Dealing with their many problems made the author a strong and determined person. Despite the pain involved, she would not have changed anything.
About the Author
Born in Danbury, Connecticut, Elinor J. Mac Donald graduated from Smithe College with a Bachelor's degree in psychology. After two graduate degrees, in 1985 she became a Professor of Psychology at a community college in Danielson, Connecticut. She now lives in Brooklyn, Connecticut where both she and her husband are retired from college teaching. She spends every summer in rural Prince Edward Island, Canada, comtemplating nature. At present, she is working on a romance novel set in Regency England involving spies, secret lists and a debonair, dashing hero.