The Family Caregiver: A Survival Guide to Navigating the Healthcare System, Advocating for Your Loved One, and Remembering to Breathe

An award-winning authority on the healthcare system in the United States, and a daughter who managed her mother's care for years, Stephanie A. Kennan is uniquely positioned to present this book. Combining anecdotes from her own experiences with the policy overviews and hard-to-find details that can be crucial, Kennan weaves together a guide to fulfilling the role of family caregiver. With empathy as well as an expert's grasp of the facts, Kennan's book will help family caregivers when they need support the most. The term "family caregiver" describes a person who, like the author, volunteers to help care for a family member, partner, or other loved one as they age and approach death. This book assists the family caregiver to get organized and to navigate the system and advocate for the loved one regardless of the healthcare setting and circumstances. With this book the family caregiver won't have to learn the hard way. Kennan explains the essential role of patient advocate that the family caregiver takes on: "Not everyone listens and understands the position of the family caregiver—and every healthcare system seems to have a different way of communicating with families and patients. No one stops to explain unless you make them slow down and spell things out." The author advises readers to "use the book to get help feeling more in control at times when it can feel as if very little can be controlled at all. The Family Caregiver is not meant to be a dictionary, nor is it a simple narrative, or a how-to book. Instead, it's a curated collection of the things no one tells you. If you keep it handy, you'll be able to return to this book throughout your journey as a family caregiver."