I just finished reading The Daughter Trap by Laurel Kennedy, and I must say that everyone who has a living parent needs to read this book!

The fact is that all of us with a living parent or two are going to face the caregiving question of “who is going to care for Mom or Dad?”  Odds are great that the obligation will fall to the daughter whether she wants it or not.  Ms. Kennedy does an awesome job of explaining why this is so.  She also tackles the questions of why society does not embrace elder care like we embrace child care;  what employers can do to ease the burden on employees who are caring for an elder parent;  and other interesting issues that rise to the surface for those caring for aging parents.

I really appreciate Ms. Kennedy’s “no holds barred”, “tell it like it is” style.  I for one can appreciate hearing the truth straight out, and she definitely tells the truth – good, bad, and ugly!  The chapter about taking on the care of an in-law is enlightening and empowering, with a wonderful Readiness Assessment that lists many questions that need to be answered honestly before taking on that committment.

And the first hand accounts from caregivers in the trenches peppered throughout the book are sometimes heart-wrenching, sometimes heart-warming.  Great stuff!

In the last third of The Daughter Trap, Ms. Kennedy offers “The Solution” which offers many solutions that I had yet to hear of or think about.  Solutions such as leaving the Sun Cities of the world and returning to the intergenerational neighborhoods of the past, to Green Houses and Granny Flats;  from employee benefits for caregiving, to robots and virtual assistants; from finding a superhero to champion the cause of elder care, to caregivers going big, bold and public to bring elder care out of the closet; there are solutions!

I could go on, but let me just say it again - everyone with a living parent needs to read this book!  I will buy 4 copies – one for each of my siblings, and one for each of my husband’s siblings.  How many will you be buying?
Thank you Laurel Kennedy for such an eye-opening, educational, in-your-face look at what will face us all.  Caregiving!