By: Donna Thomson and Zachary White, PhD.

If I could condense my life of caregiving into 212 pages, this book would have been the result.  With every page I turned I saw a deeper reflection of our lives.  I found mention of items that took me years to learn on my own – as well as information on how and where to find support.  From the practical ‘how-to’ to the ephemeral ‘how our lives have changed’ this tome is a guidepost on the inexorable slide into becoming a caregiver.  The loss of certainty in our lives affects us all - the inability to ‘plan for the future’ we expected.  You will find suggestions on retaining control of your life as you walk these paths.  As a former Well Spouse I gained insight into how 17 years of hands-on care changed me – turned me hyper-vigilant and sometimes pessimistic with a loss of patience (especially for what I see as trivial/not life-or-death).     

The authors are proponents of peer-support, whether face-to-face or electronic.  They expose our ‘hidden’ world of 45,000,000 caregivers to the light of day.  A new paradigm they offer is “care-mapping” with patient and caregiver needs charted through ANY AVAILABLE source of assistance.  They even advise on practical discussions with providers. 

This book is available on Amazon Smile at:  https://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Journey-Caring-Transformation-Caregiver/dp/1538122235/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1548960195&sr=8-1&keywords=the+unexpected+journey+of+caring 

I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I did! 

Lawrence Bocchiere III

Chairman of the Board - “The Well Spouse Association®