Life with Pop: Lessons on Caring for an Ageing Parent

From Amazon.com: After her mother died, Janis Abrahms Spring “inherited” her father (Pop) and set off on an all-consuming, fiveyear mission to make his days as rich and comfortable as possible. This is their story, overflowing with humor, insight, and love.

In beautifully crafted vignettes, Janis brings their deepening relationship to life—both the joy and the imposition, the happiness and the heartache. Early on, she watches with relief as her father adjusts to an assisted-living facility, buoyed by a resilient spirit and a network of new friends. She and her father share the intimacy of afternoons in the park, discovering wonder in the colors of a sandwich or a rose, and solace in a smile or a reassuring touch. But as Pop’s health declines, Janis finds herself tested by daunting health-care and financial decisions, and the guilt of trying to balance her father’s growing needs against her own.

From her unique perspective as a therapist—weaving together her personal story with the confessions of her patients —Janis explores the emotional and practical complexities of parenting a parent. In sparkling prose, she offers a language for this ordinary, extraordinary experience, helping other caregivers feel less crazy and alone. Inspiring, deeply moving, and frank, Life with Pop is an ultimately comforting meditation on a universal experience, as well as a book with profound lessons on how to grow old gracefully.