Caregiving from the Heart: Tales of Inspiration
By Roberta Cole and Riki Intner

In Caregiving from the Heart: Tales of Inspiration, Roberta Cole and Riki Intner take readers on what can be a life-altering odyssey of connection and caring.

At a time in our history when our population is living longer and longer, caregiving has become a national health issue as well as one of the greatest human challenges of our time. How do we respect, honor and attend to the needs of our elders? As well, how do we respect, honor and attend the needs of those facing life threatening health issues earlier in life.

How do we reconcile the seemingly huge gap between our own needs and theirs? And most of all, how do we create and sustain a dialogue that is meaningful for both?

Woven throughout Caregiving from the Heart: Tales of inspiration are the threads of true experience. We hear from children, friends, relatives and partners, long distance caregivers and many recipients of care. The shared stories help us to navigate the maze of emotion that can be at once tearful and ebullient, gut wrenching and heartwarming. The stories cover moments large and small and often address elder issues of pressing concern - from painful role reversal, driving, safety and depression to loss of mobility and even to last chance romance.

We learn that there is no right way to care and that caregiving opens windows on the full range of possibility available to us when we participate in one of the most profound adventures of our lives. The stories speak of agony and surprise - of joy and despair - but most of all - of discovery. Caregiving from the Heart: Tales of inspiration is like having a support group in your own home. Keep it on your nightstand and use it whenever you have the need.

Caregiving from the Heart: Tales of inspiration is available in the United States for $19.95 plus tax and shipping. (For shipments to California addresses, add $1.10 for sales tax) by MasterCard or Visa by calling 001-415-861-3455 ext. 3 or by mailing a check (payable to Elders Academy Press) and contact information to:

Elders Academy Press
432 Ivy street
San Francisco, CA 94102

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About the Authors

Riverside Drive on Manhattan's West Side was the scene of Roberta and Riki's first encounter. They were six and seven months old when their mothers, Sara and Ruth, wheeled their carriages and compared notes. There was much gossiping and gurgling. After a period of years, Roberta and Riki lost contact until after both Sara and Ruth were widowed. Robert and Riki reconnected in college and have been friends ever since and now are the ones comparing notes.

Although they live on opposite coasts (New York and San Francisco) they keep in close touch. Most visiting is done on the telephone and many conversations have covered moments in their mother's lives, dealing with experiences from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease and heart surgery to sharing a mother's joy upon becoming a great grandparent or a mother's recognition of a daughter's smile.

For Roberta, who teaches at N.Y.U., the book began with a sudden explosion of crimson blossoms on a brittle dried Christmas cactus plant sitting on her windowsill. The plant became a symbol of hope and surprise and helped Roberta to see the beauty that still filled her mother's life. Riki, struck by Roberta's spirit in the face of her mother's long illness, suggested that she share her story. Many more joined the circle and Caregiving From The Heart: Tales Of Inspiration was born. All the stories are drawn from true experience; some are told in the caregiver or recipient's voice, others have been transcribed from interviews. In some cases, names have been changed. Their book is for anyone who has ever felt blessed, burdened, triumphant or terrified, traveling this road where at any turn heartwarming can become heartbreaking.

Riki Intner is a marriage, family and child counselor in private practice in San Francisco and is the co-author of five other books.

Riki and Roberta's gratitude goes to all the caregivers and recipients of care who shared their stories, to those who gave their time and guidance to this project, to our families and all those who helped us see that big returns can come in small moments.