NEA Big Read (Garner 2023) - SER

These books have been selected to accompany Roz Chast's graphic memoir "Cant's We Talk About Something More Pleasant?" They support topics related to the emotions, memories, and practical challenges of planning and preparing for aging parents’ final years.

Showing 21 - 40 of 53  There are a total of 53 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "Eldercare 101"
Star rating for Eldercare 101
Description:
"A toolbox of critical resources that assists families and eldercare professionals with the navigation of aging loved ones based on the author's Six Pillars of Aging Wellbeing"--
Book cover for "The end of your life book club"
Star rating for The end of your life book club
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
A profoundly moving memoir of caregiving, mourning, and love between a mother and her son—and about the joy of reading, and the ways that joy is multiplied when we share it with others.
“A graceful, affecting testament to a mother and a life well lived.” —Entertainment Weekly, Grade A

During her treatment for cancer, Mary Anne Schwalbe and her son Will spent many hours sitting in waiting rooms together....
Book cover for "Estate Planning Basics"
Star rating for Estate Planning Basics
Book cover for "Fifty things that aren't my fault"
Star rating for Fifty things that aren't my fault
Average Rating:
3.5 stars
Description:
"From the iconic creator of the "Cathy" comic strip comes a collection of funny, warm, and wise essays in the style of Nora Ephron and Erma Bombeck, centered around the particular challenge of caring for aging parents and growing children, all while trying not to lose oneself in the process. As the creator of the "Cathy" comic strip, Cathy Guisewite found her way into the hearts of readers over 40 years ago, and has been there ever since. Her deeply...
Book cover for "Floating in the deep end"
Star rating for Floating in the deep end
Author:
Description:
"With the searching, exquisite prose of a loving daughter, Patti Davis provides a life raft for the caregivers of Alzheimer's patients. "For the decade of my father's illness, I felt as if I was floating in the deep end, tossed by waves, carried by currents, but not drowning. "In a singular account of battling Alzheimer's, Patti Davis eloquently weaves personal anecdotes with practical advice tailored specifically for the overlooked caregiver. After...
Book cover for "Fractured memories"
Star rating for Fractured memories
Author:
Book cover for "The gentle art of Swedish death cleaning"
Star rating for The gentle art of Swedish death cleaning
Average Rating:
3.8 stars
Description:
In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning "death" and städning meaning "cleaning." This surprising and invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings can be undertaken at any age or life stage but should be done sooner than later, before others have to do it for you. In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, artist Margareta Magnusson, with Scandinavian humor and wisdom, instructs readers to embrace...
Book cover for "Get it together"
Star rating for Get it together
Average Rating:
2.7 stars
Description:
"Everything you need to get organized...Do your loved ones know where to find your insurance policies, passwords, title to your car, real estate deeds, health care directive, or even your will? If you're like a lot of people, you keep important information--from automated bill-pay details to passwords to the location of important documents--in your head or stashed in the odd desk drawer. Unfortunately, this disorganization will cause hassles for those...
Book cover for "Going into town"
Star rating for Going into town
Author:
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"For native Brooklynite Roz Chast, adjusting to life in the suburbs (where people own trees!?) was surreal. But she recognized that for her kids, the reverse was true. On trips into town, they would marvel at the strange world of Manhattan: its gum-wad-dotted sidewalks, honey-combed streets, and 'those West Side Story-things' (fire escapes). Their wonder inspired 'Going into Town,' part playful guide, part New York stories, and part love letter to...
Book cover for "How to care for aging parents"
Star rating for How to care for aging parents
Average Rating:
3.5 stars
Description:

"The bible of eldercare"—ABC World News. "An indispensable book"—AARP. "A compassionate guide of encyclopedic proportion"—The Washington Post. And, winner of a Books for a Better Life Award. How to Care for Aging Parents is the best and bestselling book of its kind, and its author, Virginia Morris, is the go-to person on eldercare for the media, appearing on Oprah, TODAY, and Good Morning America, among many other outlets.

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Book cover for "How to say goodbye"
Star rating for How to say goodbye
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"As artist-in-residence at the Zen Hospice Project Guest House, Wendy MacNaughton experienced firsthand how difficult it is to know what to do when we're sharing final moments with a loved one. In this tenderly illustrated guide to saying goodbye, with a foreword by renowned physician and author BJ Miller, MacNaughton shows how to make sure those moments are meaningful. Using a framework of "the five things" taught to her by a professional caregiver,...
Book cover for "I'll be seeing you"
Star rating for I'll be seeing you
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"When her parents began to age, Elizabeth and her siblings are placed in the difficult position of taking over more and more supportive roles and tasks. They fix their parents' home, negotiate finances, eventually weather the back and forth of will they or won't they move into a nursing facility--finally they do. Berg ... takes readers through navigating the emotional and physical challenger of guiding parents through the final stages of life"--Publisher...
Book cover for "In case you get hit by a bus"
Star rating for In case you get hit by a bus
Description:
"A step-by-step program for getting your life in order, so you're prepared for the unexpected. The odds of getting hit by a bus are 495,000 to 1. But the odds that you're going to die some day? Exactly. Even the most disorganized among us can take control of our on- and off-line details so our loved ones won't have to scramble later. The experts at Everplans, a leading company in digital life planning, make it possible in this essential and easy-to-follow...
Book cover for "Inheriting clutter"
Star rating for Inheriting clutter
Description:
Everyday hundreds of adult children become middle-aged orphans when their elderly parents pass away, leaving behind more than just memories. You've heard the horror stories: arguments over stuff, an inheritance lost forever when easily deceived parents are scammed, siblings estranged, an adult heir taken from daily responsibilities for months because of the enormous task of clearing out a childhood home. It doesn't have to be that way. The Estate...
Book cover for "Knocking on heaven's door"
Star rating for Knocking on heaven's door
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
"An exquisitely written, expertly reported memoir and expose; of modern medicine that leads the way to more humane, less invasive end-of-life care based on the author's acclaimed New York Times Magazine piece. This is the story of one daughter's struggleto allow her parents the peaceful, natural deaths they wanted and to investigate the larger forces in medicine that stood in the way. When doctors refused to disable the pacemaker that caused her eighty-four-year-old...
Book cover for "The last ocean"
Star rating for The last ocean
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"Diagnosed with dementia, Nicci Gerrard's father John continued to live life on his own terms, alongside the disease. But when an isolating hospital stay precipitated a dramatic turn for the worse, Gerrard ... recognized that it was not just the disease, but misguided protocol and harmful practice that cause pain at the end of life. Inspired by his memory to seek a better course for all who suffer with the disease and those who love them, Gerrard...
Book cover for "Late migrations"
Star rating for Late migrations
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
"Beautifully written, masterfully structured, and brimming with insight into the natural world . . . It has the makings of an American classic." --ANN PATCHETT
Book cover for "Life after the diagnosis"
Star rating for Life after the diagnosis
Description:
A renowned expert in palliative care, who is featured in the Netflix documentary, End Game, Dr. Pantilat delivers a compassionate and sensitive guide to living well with serious illness. In Life After the Diagnosis, Dr. Steven Z. Pantilat, a renowned international expert in palliative care demystifies the medical system for patients and their families. He makes sense of what doctors say, what they actually mean, and how to get the best information...
Book cover for "Living in the moment"
Star rating for Living in the moment
Book cover for "Meaningful connections"
Star rating for Meaningful connections