The Tarnished Golden Years: A Guide to Parenting Your Elderly Parent

The aging of the U.S. population is one of the major challenges we face in the 21st century. The senior population explosion has created burdensome health and financial issues, constant modifications in social welfare benefits, and changes in family dynamics. Due to a culture that celebrates youth and ignores the elderly, seniors and their familes are largely unprepared to deal with these challenges. We have been led to believe that our "golden years" will be carefree and much siimpler. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only will seniors find their lives more complicated but so also will their adult children or caretakers. Most adult children are hesitant or embarrassed to talk with their parents about aging issues. The parents may also be embarrassed or baffled about the changes occurring in their lives. All parties could be in denial. When problems become so severe that immediate action is required, the family is left scrambling for solutions, leading to hasty and ill-informed decisions that could jeopardize the physical and financial health of the senior parent. This book provides a concise, clear overview of the major issues and problems confronting seniors and their families, and offers guidance and resources to assist in solving those problems. It is not an academic tome filled with statistics and theory but was written from the trenches by the author who has worked with hundreds of seniors and their families. The main premise of the book: don't get depressed; get prepared.