Take two retired Boomers. Add one elderly mother-in-law and her deranged Chihuahua, a steady diet of sleep deprivation, and a passel of monotonous routines. What do you get? Days (and sometimes nights) filled with laundry, mixed nuts, repeats of repeats, and better-laugh-or-you'll-cry moments. Late-life care can be the elephant in the room. We ignore it because ... well, what do you do with something large and foreign that you'd rather not discuss? Should you wait until it devours the houseplants and starts in on the pantry, or plan for a future that includes provisions for eldercare? Through wry anecdotes, subtle lessons, and the author's sketches, "Postcards" chronicles one couple's experiences and strategies for tending a family elder. It's part personal story and part how-to. Included are sections providing 40+ Products that Work and 30+ tips for Easing into Providing Care.Writes author Riley: "Tenders like us are home-grown experts with credentials gained through trial and error, and sometimes error and error, and of course I'm only an expert on matters relating to our family and my part in them. I can't write you a prescription for building a case for assisted living, or arranging your life to include your elder in your home, but you might learn from our tactics and thereby help your own family members through their post-golden years. If your planning or negotiations are helped through citing an acknowledged, if narrowly defined, expert, here goes: I acknowledge my expertise at elder tending and you may cite my advice to your heart's content."
About the Author: Paula (Pjo) Riley is a freelance writer-photographer based in Reno, Nevada, whose first book saw print in 2012. Her non-fiction work has appeared in a variety of regional and local publications, the Audubon International website, and the online marketing of intellectual property. Paula and her husband have practiced eldercare for many years. The first phase took place at her mother-in-law's home down the street and around the corner. The recent 3+ years-and-counting have taken place in their home. Paula likes to think her tending experience doesn't define her. Though she's now writing books, she still takes freelance assignments and says that for her, discovering stories and bringing them to life is about the journey, literally and figuratively. She likes to experience a destination, a special event, an artist, business, or business person, with a view toward uncovering what's hidden beneath the surface. Freelance work varies. It's not all articles and ghost-writing. Because she spent almost two decades in the marketing and advertising biz, she sometimes produces marketing materials for hire. She also worked as an investigator of child abuse and neglect. She says, "Between that kind of work and tending, I feel like I'll never be flummoxed by what the human body can withstand or by how people treat each other." Next up? Fiction, a craft she's been studying and practicing, though she admits that constructing a novel will require adjusting the boundaries of her natural inclination toward order and pragmatism. She promises that if you watch for her next book, a novel, you'll find it contains characters who don't follow the rules and aren't necessarily nice to each other. The plot won't involve tending.