Role Reversal

September 4, 2017
Waichler, a medical social worker, delivers an intensely personal story of observing her parents’ struggles with aging and shares plenty of lessons and strategies for people who find themselves in similar caregiver roles for their aging parents. Waichler spent 35 years working with aging adults as a licensed clinical social worker, then cared for her mother as she struggled with cancer. Her experiences inform readers about topics ranging from alleviating pain to preparing for an ill person’s death. Waichler discusses a different set of challenges that she faced while helping her father learn to live alone, such as advising him on when it was time to stop driving. Although the book doesn’t delve deeply into any single topic, it’s the ideal way to get acquainted with the myriad of issues that can arise for the children of senior parents, whether that means determining whether one’s parents can still remain in their homes or taking steps to prevent identity theft. By offering so much advice about managing the difficult and even heartbreaking situations the author experienced, the book offers the reader a sense of speaking to a well-informed and personally invested friend rather than an impersonal medical professional. Additional resources, associations, and professional contacts at the back of the book supplement Waichler’s hard-won advice.