Book reviews

Read through some reviews of The Carers Handbook written by carers using this site.

Lynn's review

Simply and clearly written, easy to follow, well indexed - what every Carer needs when they embark on the long journey of discovering what they are entitled to, and how to make life as comfortable as they can for themselves and their caree.

It taken me just over four years to collect a shelf full of leaflets and fact sheets, from a dozen different sources, in order to get to a point where I 'think' I've got the best package I can for us! I read all the information I needed - and more - in The Carer's Handbook in four afternoon bursts. Oh what I could have done with all that wasted time..

Thank you Jane for taking much of your precious time to put this information together for others.

Lynn lives with her husband Pete and cat George. In 1980 Pete had a Brain Haemorrhage due to a malformation in the blood vessels in his brain, leaving him paralysed down one side and with severe loss of cognitive skills.

Lynn says: "He had another one in May 2004 and needed a second craniotomy, which resulted in further brain injury. Whilst recovering in our local hospital they let him slip on a wet floor and he fractured his hip (the paralysed side) which really mucked his mobility up.

"He has cognitive and spatial difficulties, left hand inattention, short term memory loss and is visually impaired.

"The good news is that the malformation in his brain has now been removed completely.
He is very intelligent, funny, and a joy to look after. He does both crosswords in the Daily Telegraph every day. He has one or two bad days when he gets angry and frustrated but not many.

"I was able to work full time until 1996, then I worked part time for a mental health charity until May 2004, but am now his full time carer."

Meg's review

The Carers Handbook was a brilliant read, factual and well laid out, yet expressed in a way that was easy to follow. The scottish laws being different have been taken into account too which is good. The reference section was well laid out and this was remarked on too by Sue Mileham our Crossroads Care Manager.

Sheila one of her carers who comes to dad regularly said she would buy one, but the author had never had to deal with "Highland Council" who appear to live by their own rules! IMHO.

Personally I could have done with all this information in this easy to follow format when I was struggling with caring for mum against the system, but I can now pass it on to a friend who is just beginning the rocky road as a carer, and hope it will help her against the odds.

Meg says: "I fell into caring for my trio because it was expected of me, and it was good to read in the book I am not alone. Help is out there, but finding it is not always easy."

"I was a paid carer in hospital and a private home for 22 years, before I gave up work when my husband was crushed in an accident. He got no compensation as he was officially signed off work the day the accident happened and he had gone in to help out.

"When my mum was failing and it was obvious she had some form of dementia, neither she nor my dad wanted anything to do with social services. For six years we spent more and more time staying with them and less in our home. Mum took to her bed at Christmas 2005 and announced she was "Waiting for God". At 82 she was entitled to as her quality of life was very poor by that time. We moved in permanently with my parents and mum passed away peacefully in January.

"We had spent seven years trying to get a council house near to dad and succeeded in January 2007, only because my hubby had been diagnosed with cancer. He has had five major operations and every day has to be taken as it comes. We are awaiting CT scan results, but he has been doing really well. Dad is now 87 and has moved into sheltered housing as he can no longer manage the stairs with his weak heart. He's loving it...only downside is that it is a couple of miles away.

"Apart from study for my previous employment now over 8 years ago, the only carers guide I have had use of was the one specifically for dementia sufferers and this was invaluable to me in caring for mum.

"If I had my time over again with mum and the new knowledge I have gleaned I doubt things would have been any different. I would still have done the 24/7 for her to die as she wished in peace in her own home."