by jphilo | Mar 2, 2015 | Book Updates
Since the beginning of December, I feel like I’ve been juggling knives.
Sharp knives.
Recently honed to a razor’s edge.
And all because I was plunked into the role of primary caregiver for the first time in a long time.
Though I was caring for an aging parent–first in our home, then transitioning her to assisted living, and now advocating for her with insurance companies, with a little break thrown in caring for a toddler grandchild when a new baby came along–the experience was a reminder of what parents of kids with special needs live with day by day.
Parents of kids with special needs are constantly juggling knives that
gouge finances,
skewer free time,
turn any attempts into creating a routine into chopped liver,
and shred caregiving paperwork into teeny, tiny bits.
A New Caregiver’s Notebook Give Away
My caregiving duties are easing up, but if you’re the parent of a child with special needs or caring for an aging parent, your duties are as demanding as ever. That’s why Different Dream is giving away a copy my The Caregiver’s Notebook. Why? Because the notebook I filled out for Mom was a way to sheath the mess of knives I was juggling. And it sheathed them better than I ever imagined it would while writing the notebook. Especially after my Caregiver’s Notebook epic fail, which tells the story of why I now carry Mom’s copy with me to e-v-e-r-y appointment she has.
To enter the contest, visit Gravel Road’s sister site, DifferentDream.com.
by jphilo | Oct 27, 2014 | Reviews
I suspected, when asking Mary Potter Kenyon for a review copy of Refined by Fire, that it would be a hard book to put down. Once I opened the book, my suspicions proved to be absolutely true. The book was nearly impossible to put down for two riveting reasons.
Refined by Fire: Two Reasons It’s Hard to Put Down
First, the author tells a heartbreaking story of loss. In the span of a few years, Kenyon lost her mother Irma and then her husband David. Just as she discovered writing as a way to regain her emotional footing, her young grandson Jacob died of cancer.
Second, she makes the story more compelling by being transparent. She lays her journey of grief before the reader, refusing to hide her emotional pain, her tears, her anger, her loneliness, and her doubts. We see grief take its toll on her relationships and especially on her youngest daughter, Abigail, who was just 8 when her father died.
Refined by Fire: Snapshots of Grief
Though overwhelmed by grief and shedding tears every morning for years, Kenyon somehow writes her way through her grief. Throughout the book, excerpts from her blog and daily journals are featured:
Grief at Ten and a Half Weeks
The First Holiday
Grief at Twenty Weeks
Grief at Five Months
Each entry is a word picture, a snapshot of grief frozen in time. Between those entries, the reader sees grief melt and morph and reform as Kenyon questions God and hears him answer in sweet and unexpected ways. Though devastated by her losses, she begins to see God at work in her life. Her heart is still broken at the end of the book, but thanks to her determination to cling to God, she is also stronger and more capable than before.
Refined by Fire: A Grief Handbook
Kenyon’s Refined by Fire is essentially “grief handbook” for those dealing with loss, something Kenyon wished for as she grieved. It is also a useful tool and resource for pastors, grief support group leaders, hospice workers, funeral home directors, and anyone working with people dealing with grief.
Refined by Fire Give Away
I have a copy of Refined by Fire to give away. To enter the drawing, leave a comment in the box below between now and midnight on November 1, 2014. To increase your chances of winning, sign up for the Gravel Road’s RSS feed at the top, right side of this page and leave another comment saying you did so by midnight on November 1, 2014.
Mary Potter Kenyon graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in Psychology and is the Director of the Winthrop Public Library. She wrote several of the devotions included in the NIV Hope in the Mourning Bible released by Zondervan in 2013. Mary writes a weekly couponing column for the Dubuque Telegraph Herald and conducts writing and couponing workshops for women’s groups, libraries, and community colleges. Mary is also the author of Coupon Crazy: The Science, the Savings, and the Stories Behind America’s Extreme Obsession and ChemoTherapist: How Cancer Cured a Marriage.
by jphilo | Oct 20, 2014 | Book Updates
Yes, The Caregiver’s Notebook has arrived here on the gravel road. The official release date is November 1, 2014, but this post gives a sneak peek at what’s inside. You’ll see why the notebook can be used by parents of kids with special needs, adult children caring for aging parents, and those caring for adults with disabilities or special needs. Even healthy adults like the Man of Steel and I are compiling our own notebooks, so our affairs are in order just in case something happens to one of us.
Sound good? Then here’s a look inside the notebook. If you read to the very end, you’ll also learn how to enter the give away for a free copy.
The Inside Scoop on The Caregiver’s Notebook
The tour begins with a close up of the front cover.
Next, the table of contents…there’s a corresponding tab for each section.
Each section begins with a excerpt from caregiver’s devotionals by Discovery House Publisher authors Shelly Beach, Wendy Wallace, or me. The one pictured below is by Wendy.
Tabbed pages make it easy to flip to the different sections…
…followed by instructions on how to use each section.
Every section contains forms that make collecting and recording your loved one’s information as easy as possible. This form is for emergency information.
Some how-to sections also have completed sample pages to you can see exactly how to fill them out.
The notebook has a blank three year calendar for caregivers to fill in and use to keep track of a loved one’s appointments and activities. Each monthly two page spread has room for notes on the side, too.
At the end of the notebook there’s a pocket page where you can tuck all the business cards, information sheets, and test results received at your loved one’s appointment. That way you can find and file them once you’re back home.
Finally, because it’s hard for the back cover to watch the front cover get all the attention, here’s a lovely shot of the lowly backside.
The Caregiver’s Notebook Give Away
If you like what’s inside The Caregiver’s Notebook, you’re invited enter a drawing to win a free copy. Just leave a comment in the box below about how you will use the notebook. The contest ends at midnight on October 31, 2014, so leave your comment before then. The winner will be chosen and contacted on November 1.
