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Book Review: Caregiving: The Spiritual Journey of Love, Loss and Renewal

In her book Caregiving: The Spiritual Journey of Love, Loss and Renewal, Beth Witrogen McLeod explores the process of finding meaning in human suffering. The author frames caregiving as a rite of passage—a journey toward heightened compassion and connection with one’s true self. The book is a mélange of personal experience and practical advice—from both McLeod and other professionals in the fields of aging, finance, medicine and spirituality. Caregiving offers hope and inspiration by delving into the core issues of life and death, exploring such topics as:

• Family caregiving: how to approach it and how it affects the family dynamic
• Women’s roles as natural caregivers
• How to access medical and financial resources
• Spousal caregiving: coming to terms with the loss of intimacy, partnership and identity
• Dealing with the solitude, frustration, isolation, guilt, resentment and depression associated with caregiving
• Grieving and accepting death

Beth Witrogen McLeod explores caregiving with wisdom and soulfulness, calling on her experience providing care for her aging parents—her father with cancer and her mother with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Whereas many see caring for a sick loved one as a burden, McLeod urges readers to consider the benefits of enduring pain and grief and emerging stronger and more appreciative of life in the end.

Most people will become caregivers, in one way or another, at some point in their lives. Reading Caregiving: The Spiritual Journey of Love, Loss and Renewal is wonderful preparation. The book is in bookstores now and is also available at Amazon.

Posted in: Dealing with Grief & Guilt

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