Caregiving and Caregetting Links and Resources-Heartsong Books website

This page last updated on 4/15/05

Celebrations of Kinship for Earth's Children

Author and Publisher maggie davis presents
Caregiving/Caregetting Links and Resources

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for caregivers, ministers, counselors, teachers, parents, volunteers, young people—all of us who want to nourish each other in ways we can feel, no matter the circumstances of our lives.

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A few of these links may have been left by the wayside, or land you in places that leave you scratching your head. We try to keep up with the changes, but . . . If you get stuck, "Google" the subject matter to see if you can find new link. Then, thanks for letting us know the link change if you're successful!

Caregiving and Caregetting Links

	Bruderhof Grief Companion a resource for the grieving and bereaved.
	Home Works one of the leading providers of educational, instructional and how-to video and audio programs in the U.S. click on grief and dying, health and wellness, holistic health
	Journalkeepers.com Your internet source for creative journal writing products. Homepage of Good Grief For Kids, a children's art therapy journal to help them cope during times of loss and My Memory Maker, an art therapy work book for children who are faced with the grief that accompanies Alzheimer's disease. The site includes helpful suggestions and resources for adults and children coping with loss as well as journal writing excercises for even the most reluctant writers.
	Alzheimer Society Canada *Help for today, hope for tomorrow*
	The Elderly Place This site is Alzheimer's specific with an emphasis on caregiving. says maggie: informative, abundant and heartfelt. not to be missed.
	ERGO! Books, essays and more concerning euthanasia
	Compassion Books *Carefully selected resources related to loss and grief*
	Empire HomeCare Resources for Seniors,Caregivers, and the Disabled
	CarePathways.com Carepathways.com was created by RN's to help families across the nation find the best care for their aging parents and loved ones. We provide on-line USA Nursing Home Inspection Reports and Assisted Living Evaluations. maggie says: a wide ranging, fast loading and accessible site.
	PARTNERSHIP FOR CARING: AMERICA'S VOICES FOR THE DYING is a national nonprofit organization that partners individuals and organizations in a powerful collaboration to improve how people die in our society. Among other services, Partnership for Caring operates the only national crisis and informational hotline dealing with end-of-life issues and provides state-specific living wills and medical powers of attorney.
	AHCC Nutrients USA AHCC is a nutritional supplement extract developed from the mycelia of several species of mushrooms including the shiitake. Many in Japan consider it an alternative medicine.
	ElderCare Online The internet community of elder caregivers. ElderCare Online is a beacon for people caring for aging loved ones. Whether you are caring for a spouse, parent, relative or neighbor, we are committed to providing an online community where supportive peers and professionals help you improve quality of life for yourself and your elder. says maggie: What a wonderfully, rich site.
	An ElderCare BookStore Features Ebooks for Family Caregivers caring for aging or elderly parents, a caregivers booklist, tips and tools for daily living and resources from the web. Online Shopping for family caregivers.
	The International Multiple Myeloma Foundation Our mission: To improve the quality of life of myeloma patients while working towards prevention and a cure maggie calls this a welcoming, informative, extremely comprehensive site
	Shirley's Wellness Café a nonprofit, educational site dedicated to help promote holistic health for your family and your animals. maggie says about this site: "one of my all-time favorites. do not miss this health—enhancing , all-embracing place. Indescribably informative.
	Seniors Site the website for senior citizens and adults 50+
	Rites of Passage Providing education on death and dying, AIDS and aging through the arts: film and video, photo/oral history exhibits, and music
	Empowering Caregivers choices—healing—love
	The Eden Alternative "The Eden Alternative^TM is a set of ideas and practices that can remake the experience of aging in modern society. We believe that too many elders suffer from the three plagues of loneliness, helplessness and boredom. In order to combat these plagues we help people transform elder care environments from sterile and lifeless spaces to rich vibrant gardens that pulse with companionship, opportunities to give as well as receive care,and variety and spontaneity." Says Eden: We are "a powerful tool for improving the quality of life for people who live in long term care facilities. It is a new way of thinking about long term care and it has the potential of remaking facilities all over the country."
	Last Acts A national coalition to improve care and caring at the end of life.
	Caring for Your Older Parents I'd rather sit and listen to our older folks, than to babysit any day . . . All of us have our calling in this life and I guess I've found mine. I seem to be the one who "cares" for the old/sometimes sick/sometimes dying folks at home. Our older generation carry a wealth of information and knowledge if you take the time to LISTEN.
	Caring Magazine CARING magazine, the premier monthly magazine for home care service providers
	A Musical Journey videos Videos and Audios of old-fashioned sing-alongs geared to the Mature Audience! . . . used in Long Term Care Facilities as a guide for leading sing-alongs for infirm seniors, particularly those with Alzheimer Disease, and for caregiver respite.
	A Writer's Choice Literary Journal
	CJD Voice Homepage We are a grass roots organization of individuals formed in May 1997 to support families during and after a CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease) crisis. We also discuss various issues surrounding CJD and other related illnesses. As of May 1998, we have approximately 200 members in our mailing list. "This is a fine site" - maggie
	ALZwell the caregiver's homepage
	The End of Life telling others the story of how a loved one died
	Before I Die excellent caregiving resources of all kinds from PBS program of the same name
	Senior Net Bell's Palsy Postings Page
	Growth House This award-winning web site is an international gateway to resources for life-threatening illness and end of life issues. Our primary mission is to improve the quality of compassionate care for people who are dying through public education about hospice and home care, palliative care, pain management, death with dignity, bereavement, and related end of life topics.
	Gesundheit! Institute Broadening the dialogue on health care delivery—based on a set of principles that includes the whole person in the healing process.
	The Human Service Alliance Their work and purpose is to realize and unfold the idea that ordinary people, with jobs and families, can serve others in extraordinary ways; to give 3-D proof that, with Commitment and Love, the ideal of effective, efficient, impeccable group service can be a reality.
	GriefNet a collection of resources of value to those who are experiencing loss and grief
	"When Thirty Seconds Are Enough:The Fine Art of Just Being There" an article by Delton Krueger from the July/August issue of Today's Caregiver
	Today's Caregiver Today's Caregiver Magazine is a print and web magazine written by Caregivers for Caregivers. All of the information in the magazine is dedicated to helping the Caregiver cope, learn, share and laugh.
	Zen Hospice Project The Zen Hospice Project organizes programs dedicated to the care of people approaching death and to increasing our understanding of our own impermanence.
	Helping Hands Hospice of North Central Florida—the main purpose of their website is to promote the Hospice Philosophy by providing an Interactive Gathering Place for the online hospice community.
	The Samaritans The Samaritans is a non-religious charity located in Cheltenham, England that offers emotional support to the suicidal and despairing.
	The Caregivers Guide Written by a mother who cared for her HIV+ son, this self-published, non-profit book is, as the book's subtitle suggests, a "labor of love."
	Death and Dying this page from the Global Ideas Bank site offers a comprehensive resource to help understand all aspects of death and dying
	Caregivers Network, Inc. ...dedicated to making caregivers' lives easier
	Motherloss This group was started to help with the grieving issues for adult children of Moms who have died.
	Webster's Death, Dying and Grief Guide This web site represents a comprehensive collection of Internet resources with a holistic perspective - one that is truly helpful to anyone pursuing a wider vision and understanding of the normal death process. It is geared toward death as "natural" and expected for all living beings. A wealth of resources, information and inspiration. Highly recommended.
	Karon Cabell's Story Karon Cabell lost her mother to cancer when her mother was 63. Karon's account of her time with her mother is stirring and in its honesty and clarity provides deep solace.
	MoAngelica's HomePage: Living Each Day To Its Fullest Mo has early onset Alzheimers. She says: "My goal is to brighten the day of whom ever happens to read my web page. If just one person is helped in the smallest way, I will feel my goal is reached.
	Diana Friel McGowin Homepage I'm Diana Friel McGowin, patient-author of the best seller, Living in the Labyrinth, and an intense patients' advocate. I am interested in contacting online functioning Early Onset and Early Stage Alzheimer and related dementia patients with access to America On Line for purposes of sharing tips on coping, mutual laughter, personal histories, and available research.
	A Year to Remember . . . with my mother and Alzheimer's Disease In August 1994, Brenda Parris Sibley quit grad school at Florida State and came home to Alabama to take care of her mother who had Alzheimer's Disease. On her website she shares all the information she can find about this disease because she knows that knowledge is essential to being a good caregiver. Brenda says: "Even those who are not caregivers need to know about this disease because almost everyone knows someone who has Alzheimer's, and probably most of us are at risk for getting it ourselves." The site is packed with terrific links and resources.
	"The Compassionate Friends" TCF is a self-help organization for bereaved parents and siblings. There are presently hundreds of chapters world-wide. Note from maggie: I haven't used any of its services and don't know of anyone who has, but this looks promising. TCF also offers a service called Telephone Friends where those who have suffered loss are eager to comfort others who are bereaved.
	For Those Who are Grieving "For Laura", by Robert Hanley a moving story of the joy a family found in the midst of sorrow "Silence is Not an Answer in the Time of Grief", an account by Elizabeth Cross McDonald A memorial In Loving Memory of David Cockerton For anyone grieving for any reason, do visit GriefNet, where these stories came from.
	Breathe Deeply! Healing Stories for the Soul An enchanting collection of fourteen therapeutic and spiritually transforming fairy tales for adults and chidren (ages ten and up.)
	Therapeutic Caregiving Barbara Bridges, R.N., a caregiver for two parents with dementing illness, has written a book which presents practical techniques for keeping persons with dementing illness more functional, both mentally and physically. Her "therapeutic caregiving" concepts prevent many of the problems and difficult behaviors normally associated with people with dementia.
	ElderCare Forum a quarterly newsletter for caregivers loaded with practical information, tips, advice and guidance
	The Virtual Dolphin Project a modern approach to dolphin-facilitated therapy for children suffering with life-threatening illness & developmental disabilities
	Hoffman Family Home Page This is the home page for Bob and Shirley Hoffmann. It was established primarily with the interest to document and make available to the Hoffman's friends, that have access to the Internet, information and discussion about the acute illness — Alzheimers Disease — that they are dealing with as a family. Note from maggie: This page is for every caregetter, no matter the illness s/he's concerned with. Information and connections abound, but most of all tenderly written stories that will inspire and give comfort to anyone who has ever loved well a beloved who in essence disappears day-by-day.
	Friendship as Therapy an article about the doctor-patient relationship by Patch Adams, M.D.
	Baxley Media Group the best in health and human relations videos, complete with links to other sources of information on such topics as addictions, aging, AIDS, children's health, eating disorders, and health care reform.

Resources for Caregivers and Caregetters

	Halo of Grief (book) by Bolton Hall simple, exquisite and wisdomfilled, 1st copyright 1913
	Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge written by Mem Fox illustrated by Julie Vivas This heartfelt and uplifting children's book is for people of any age who love someone who is losing his or her memory. It is for people of any age who love anyone at all.
	Patterns of Life Force by Dr. Julian Barnard maggie says her copy is quite dog-eared and much underlined.
	CAREGIVING:Hospice-Proven Techniques for Healing Body and Soul by Douglas C. Smith This book is filled with inspirational stories and effective guidance. It also addresses how to communicate with difficult patients and those in denial, how to facilitate non-stressful family interaction, and other important topics. It will be invaluable to parents and children caring for their elders; physicians and nurses; social workers and home health aides; members of the clergy; and all facing the challenge of enriching patients' lives and spirits.
	Living in the Labyrinth: A Personal Journal Through the Maze of Alzheimers a book by Diana Friel McGowin (visit her homepage)
	Awakening Compassion Cassettes by Pema Chödrön
	Remember Us a book by Maxine Bender celebrates her hemophiliac children who in their mid thirties died of Aids
	Caroline Myss, Ph.D: Energy Anatomy: The Science of Personal Power, Spirituality and Health (six tape set) Spiritual Madness (cassettes) available from Sounds True
	Lorenzo's Oil a video
	Mother Teresa a film by Ann and Jeanette Petrie with a narration by Richard Attenborough
	Stephen Levine Books: Meetings at the Edge Who Dies? Healing Into Life and Death Cassettes: In the Heart Lies the Deathless (Stephen Levine) Embracing the Beloved (Stephen and Ondrea Levine) Both cassette sets available from Sounds True 1-800-333-9185
	Edward Bach "Heal Thyself," a writing by Edward Bach, flower essence pioneer, which is included in the book, The Bach Flower Remedies
	Dying Well, a book by Ira Bylock, M.D.
	The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, a book by Sogyal Rinpoche
	Counting on Kindness: The Dilemmas of Dependency a book by Wendy Lustbader This poignant and informative book explores loss of function due to illness, injury, or aging. For caregivers, it offers the caregetter's point of view, which is rarely approached so tenderly. For caregetters, it offers great solace. Not to be missed!
	Opal: The Journal of an Understanding Heart, a book by Opal Whiteley, adapted by Jane Boulton Opal began this charming diary when she was only six. From the book jacket: "Opal's theme is simple: God is caring. Life is wondrous. Orphaned and lonely . . . [Opal] speaks directly to the pain and love that lie beneath the surface for all of us." This book would be a comfort to children experiencing death or grief or loneliness. It is inspiring, too, for children of all ages, who find miracles in the ordinary.
	The Family of Man, a book The project "was conceived as a mirror of the universal elements and emotions in the everydayness of life . . ." In illness or in sorrow, we can remind ourselves through studying these moving photographs taken around the world, that without question we are one, both in our grief as well as in our joy and, being one, how truly could we ever be alone.
	Marvin's Room, a video This movie is for caregetters as well as for caregivers. It stars Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton and depicts caregiving and caregetting in all its aspects, the most moving of which is the all-healing nature of love. Not to be missed!
	"How, Then, Shall We Live?" by Wayne Muller, author of Legacy of the Heart -The Spiritual Advantages of a Painful Childhood Four simple quests that reveal the beauty and meaning of our lives (2 tapes)
	"The Chalice of Repose: A Contemplative Musician's Approach to Death and Dying" by Therese Schroeder-Sheker videotape—available from Sounds True 1-800-333-9185
	"Being with Dying: Contemplative Practices and Teachings" by Joan Halifax six cassettes—available from Sounds True 1-800-333-9185
	A Whole New Life, a book by Reynolds Price Man-of-letters Reynolds Price speaks of his health crisis this way: "This is a book about a mid-life collision with cancer and paralysis, a collision I've survived for ten years and counting . . . [The] aim is to give, in the midst of an honest narrative, a true record of the visible and invisible ways in which one fairly normal creature entered a trial, not of his choosing, and emerged after a long four years on a new life . . ."
	The Alchemy of Illness, a book by Kat Duff A woman explores the transforming—and, paradoxically, healing—experience of being ill

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