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Books on aging

  • Plenty of good books are available on the aging process, options in caring for seniors and how families can handle the emotional stress.

  • Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Our Elders by Mary Pipher (Riverhead Books, 1999, $24.95). Beautifully-written scenarios on how to bridge the generation gap with aging seniors from a best-selling author (Reviving Ophelia) and therapist.

  • Baby Boomer's Guide to Caring for Aging Parents by Bart Astor (Macmillan Spectrum, 1998, $15.95) One boomer who's been through it all offers practical advice to other boomers, including care choices for frail parents and what adult children need to know about finances, government assistance, insurance and legal issues.

  • Good Daughters: Loving Our Mothers as They Age by Patricia Beard (Warner Books, 1999, $23). A journalist and daughter explore the pressures on Baby Boomer women and the relationships with their mothers as they cope with children, careers and issues of aging.

  • Growing Older and Wiser: Coping With Expectations, Challenges, and Change in Later Years by Nathan Billig (Lexington Books, 1993, $11). A specialist in geriatric psychiatry draws on stories from patients living full and satisfying lives well past 70 and offers practical advice for dealing with issues of loss, depression, sexuality and sleep as well as planning for the future.

  • How to Care for Aging Parents by Virginia Morris (Workman Publishing Co., 1996, $15.95). A clearly written, well-organized manual chock full of resources, tips and advice on everything from understanding the aging process, to finding a nursing home, to preparing for the time to say good bye.

  • The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for Persons With Alzheimer's Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Loss in Later Life by Nancy L. Mace and Peter V. Rabins (Warner Books, 1992, $7.50). Compiled by experts at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, it covers the medical, legal, financial and emotional aspects of caring for an impaired relative.Online resources
  • These sites offer resources and information on aging and elder care.

  • American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, www.aahsa.com. The organization representing some 5,000 not-for-profit facilities for the aged offers tips on choosing a nursing home, assisted living facility or continuing care in a retirement community.

  • American Association of Retired Persons, www.aarp.org. Many of the brochures, reports and fact sheets on aging and consumer issues are available online from the nation's leading advocate for the elderly.

  • Area Agency on Aging, www.info4seniors.org. A comprehensive listing of local services available for the elderly and their families, compiled by the state-funded agency for the Miami Valley. Just click on the map of your county.

  • Assisted Living Federation of America, www.alfa.org. The only trade organization devoted specifically to assisted living provides a national directory, a checklist for visiting facilities and a model contract.

  • National Association for Home Care, www.nahc.org. The trade association offers tips on selecting home-care providers as well as a directory of more than 28,000 home care and hospice agencies.

    Main story:

    Frail elderly at mercy of system
    A lack of affordable choices, staffing lead complaints

    Sidebars:

    Some area facilities in touch with residents
    Hiring qualified staff a serious challenge for homes
    Determine what your elder care needs are
    Books on aging


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