The Reluctant Caregiver: Making Peace With an Imperfect Parent (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780971224063)

Just because a parent needs care does not negate or erase their hurtful actions of the past. It intensifies them and drudges up painful memories.

It is no easy task to deal with the day-to-day demands of taking care of someone else. It is even more challenging serving and sacrificing for a parent whose presence is associated with everything you are trying to avoid. The Reluctant Caregiver addresses the inner conflict unique to those who are or were caregivers for a parent with whom they still have issues.

Psychotherapist Karen Oke shares her personal and spiritual journey of processing through her painful past as well as the experiences of others who dealt with the conflict of caregiving. In this book, you will gain insight on how to:

• Deal with the guilt and frustration of taking care of a parent you don't like being around
• Work through the anger of feeling forced to take care of a parent who didn't properly care for you
• Escape emotional manipulation by setting appropriate boundaries in place
• Find a way to live your best life despite the demands of caregiving
• Free yourself from the prison of emotional pain by gently processing through your past to find peace

Sometimes the caregiving situation "is what it is." But there are ways you can become better instead of bitter. Get practical principles that you can apply to your own life that will assist you in your role as a caregiver and, more importantly, in taking care of yourself.