Living Is for Living: A Caregiver's Story 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. Living Is for Living 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.
