The Reluctant Carer: Dispatches from the Edge of Life (Paperback)
  • The Reluctant Carer: Dispatches from the Edge of Life (Paperback)
zoom

The Reluctant Carer: Dispatches from the Edge of Life (Paperback)

(author)
1 Review Sign in to write a review
£10.99
Paperback 320 Pages
Published: 06/07/2023
  • In stock

Usually dispatched within 2-3 working days

  • This item has been added to your basket
Waterstones Says

Running the gamut of emotions from the side-splitting hilarious to the profoundly poignant, this beautifully written account of looking after one's elderly parents encapsulates all the frustrations, heartaches and unexpected joys of being a carer.

It was the kind of phone call we all dread. Your elderly father has been admitted to hospital. He's not well and he needs your help. Your mum is about to be left at home alone. She needs you too. The answer? Simple. Drop everything. Go. Just be there. Just help. The reality? Not so straightforward. Suddenly, you're a kid again, stranded in the overheated house you grew up in. They need you 24/7, that much is obvious. And you want to help, of course you do. But soon your life starts to unravel almost as quickly as their health.

In between bouts of washing, feeding, cooking and fighting there are days that test you, days where everything goes wrong and days where everyone, miraculously rises to the occasion. And in between all of that, you learn how to care. But this time with feeling.

Irresistibly funny, unflinching and deeply moving, this is a love letter to family and friends, to carers and to anyone who has ever packed a small bag intent on staying for just a few days. This is a true story of what it really means to be a carer, and of the ties that bind even tighter when you least expect it. This is The Reluctant Carer.

Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781529029390
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 226 g
Dimensions: 196 x 130 x 20 mm


MEDIA REVIEWS

It's the wisest, funniest, bravest and most essential life story I've read. I bloody love this book. - Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Brave, unflinching and funny . . . This is a troubling but important read; an honest, warts and all glimpse into the reality of unpaid caring. It left me full of respect for those who care and seething that the system isn’t giving them the support and encouragement they so obviously need. - Jan Carson, The Irish Times

An astonishing and crucial memoir exploring the outer limits of familial love. The Reluctant Carer recounts a personal nightmare any of us could face with humour, heart and total honesty, asking vital questions of elderly care, where we’re at now, and where, one day, we will all be. How it’s as funny as it is moving is beyond me. I loved this book - David Whitehouse, author of About A Son

Simultaneously delightfully funny and profoundly sad, the RC's book is a tonic that should be prescribed on the NHS for carers everywhere. - TLS

Incredible. One of those rare books that should be dispensed on prescription to every household - captures the full glossary of emotion that goes with this role. - Lucy Easthope, author of When the Dust Settles

I absolutely loved this book. Moving and real, as well as splutter-your-tea funny, it's a clear-eyed, intimate description of what old age is really like, and what it's like trying to care for the old. It knocked me sideways. - Miranda Sawyer

As funny as it is moving and poetic, The Reluctant Carer marries the forensic honesty of Karl Ove Knausgaard with the dry wit of Alan Bennett, and is every bit as good as that sounds. - Will Storr, author of The Science of Storytelling

This is the funniest, most touching book I've read in years; it will, quite frankly, break your heart. - Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan

You may also be interested in...

Abroad in Japan
Added to basket
£10.99   £8.99
Paperback
Unruly
Added to basket
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing
Added to basket
Everything I Know About Love
Added to basket
Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad
Added to basket
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Strong Female Character
Added to basket
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Catherine, the Princess of Wales
Added to basket
£22.00   £17.99
Hardback
Monsters
Added to basket
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
The Woman in Me
Added to basket
£9.99   £7.99
Paperback
Poor
Added to basket
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Eighteen
Added to basket
£22.00
Hardback
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki
Added to basket
A Voyage Around the Queen
Added to basket
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
Surviving to Drive
Added to basket
£8.99   £7.49
Paperback
brother. do. you. love. me.
Added to basket
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
Knife
Added to basket
£20.00   £17.99
Hardback
Rambling Man
Added to basket
£10.99   £8.99
Paperback
The Trading Game
Added to basket
£25.00   £21.99
Hardback

“Unvarnished truth, hilarious with it!”

So many issues visited and considered contained within a very readable and relatable story. This book reaches well beyond a simple recounting of caring for elderly parents and tackles many of the challenges faced as... More

Hardback edition
Helpful? Upvote 22

Please sign in to write a review

Your review has been submitted successfully.

env: aptum
branch: