While we consider our blog an engaging and helpful resource for family caregivers and those in need of assistance, we also like to read a variety of blogs. The fact is, caregiving for a loved one can at times feel insurmountable and isolating. While your health care provider should be your trusted source for all medical advice, there’s a lot to be said for finding solace and fresh ideas in support groups. The better a family caregiver is—physically, mentally, emotionally—the better they can help someone else living with an illness or disability.
Here are a few of our best of the best caregiving blogs, in the opinion of this editorial staff:
- No matter how you like to engage, Transition Aging Parents, has got you covered with video, podcasts, blog posts, and a book, “Transitioning Your Aging Parent: A 5-Step Guide Through Crisis & Change.” It’s all created by Dale Carter, who has been a long-distance caregiver to her mother and is now caregiving for her husband after a diagnosis of Parkinson’s and Lewy Body dementia. She not only shares her own experiences, but provides interviews with experts and links to other resources she recommends.
- At The Caregiver’s Voice, Brenda Avadian, MA, draws on her experience as a caregiver for her father after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis to bring joy and support to other family caregivers. She is the author of “Finding the Joy in Alzheimer’s” and other books. Whether writing about her own insights or interviewing others, she always shares her unique sense of humor and genuine kindness.
- Denise Brown has grown her blog, Caregiving.com, into webinars, a conference, trainings, and more. The blog actually began as a print newsletter and today there are podcasts, eight books, journals, seminars, and Caregifters, a non-profit that Brown created to allow families to apply for much-needed funds to be used however they desire—vacation, bills, etc.
- When some people go through the experience of providing care to family, they have a new desire to help others who are, or may soon, be in their shoes. That’s how the EldercareABC blog got its start after Steve and Sandra Joyce got a taste of caregiving. The ABC is an acronym for “About Being Connected” and they have put together everything from product reviews to “teleclasses” for popular topics, in addition to the blog. “If it requires a village to raise a child, then what does it take to care for an aging parent?” they ask. Good question!
- The Family Caregiving Alliance has created a space for lots of family caregivers to blog and share their stories. “I am new to this site and after reading a few of the stories I am actually glad to find out that I’m not so crazy and the emotions I have are normal,” one family caregiver/blogger confessed. And that is why this blog is a success: to show people they are not alone in their challenges and successes on this new journey of care.
- Much caregiving comes to a complicated end of relief and grief. Elaine Mansfield started her blog as a caregiver and continues it was a place to learn about loss, to process grief, and hear about her own journey. She’s authored a book, “Leaning into Love: a Spiritual Journey Through Grief” and given a TedX talk on these topics and continues to work as a hospice volunteer.
Share your favorite blogs with us in the comments!