Living Is for Living

<p><em>Living Is for Living: A Caregiver's Story</em> presents a real-time look at the multi-layered experience of caring for an elder with Alzheimer's disease and other health challenges while also being there for a spouse children and house full of pets. Addressing difficult topics like caregiver burden end-of-life decision-making and letting go Mitman offers humor and hope as she weaves together research and reflection gathered over two decades. She details too the guidance received from those around her the inspiration found in a Higher Power-to her Love-and the experience of moving back to a geographic home. In addition to speaking to the saving grace of spiritual awakening discovered in her twenties with the help of the Twelve Steps and Al-Anon Mitman describes what it was like to return to Maine after years away raising children in Wisconsin a place she had grown to love too. When changes in her mother's health threatened independent living and her mother moved to the Midwest for company Mitman was determined to get her back to Maine when her own family life allowed two years later. Mitman eventually came to understand that this home-coming was healing to her as well as she continued to show up for her mother a smile on her face thanks to the help of family friends and caregivers finding space to care for herself and to adapt to the daily losses and then later after her mother died to process the grief that landed front and center. When Mitman first blogged about her caregiving experience at thejoyofcaring.com as a way to relieve stress be creative and share what she was learning about parenting marriage dementia and more she did not anticipate how her community of readers would fuel her in staying the course of her mother's care and the grief that would follow. <em>Living Is for Living</em> is Mitman's way of remembering her caregiving journey and passing along its many lessons in gratitude to all who provided support along the way and in hope of helping others on caregiving paths of their own to feel supported too.</p>