When Roles Reverse, A Guide to Parenting Your Parents by Jim Comer, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 2006 With humor and sensitivity Jim Comer shares what he learned in his ten years of care giving and provides resources and advice for those caring for parents. Many chapters end with key points to remember, “Comer’s Commandments”. His love for his parents is clear throughout this insightful book. Everyone should complete the questionnaire “Fifty Questions That Will Save You Time, Money and Tears” found in the book, for their parents, and/or for themselves. |
Comer provides resources to help with legal and financial issues as well as help for finding geriatric care managers, and governmental organizations.
Comer provides information about the many options for care and includes sections written by experts in the field. Helpful information is available about home care, and the different options in the continuum of care: retirement communities, retirement homes, assisted living, skilled nursing homes, long-term care facilities, Alzheimer’s units, and hospice.
We all need to read this book both as a how-to manual and delightful memoir. It is a warm and loving story of a family as well as a guide for care givers. It will help us not only prepare to care for our parents, but also plan for our future. As Comer says in the introduction, “Parenting your parents does not require an advanced degree, saintliness, or a perfect parent/child relationship. What you will need is energy, flexibility, and patience – lots of patience.”
