Book Review: “The Boomer Burden”

Review by Ann Blanchard

(Editor’s Note: Ann reviewed “The Boomer Burden: Dealing with Your Parents’ Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff” by Julie Hall. What follows are our questions and her answers.)

Caregiving.com: Did the book meet your expectations?
Ann: It exceeded my expectations by offering far more information than I anticipated. I thought it was about moving your parents out of the family home since the book’s subtitle is “Dealing with Your Parents’ Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff.” It covered that topic along with a wealth of additional information about how to get parents to discuss and legally specify their wishes with wills and powers of attorney, how to get them to dispose of their years of “stuff,” and how to start the discussions about whom in the family gets what.

Julie also helps the reader ascertain how to value possessions — whether you have family heirlooms or junk. And she walks the reader through how to deal with the emotions of the loss of one’s parents and settling their estate.

Caregiving.com: What did you like? What would you like to see more of?
Ann: I loved the stories that Julie told, so many rang true. It’s clear she has years of experience in the field and really knows her stuff. I laughed when she talked about typical finds in seniors’ homes, including bread bag twisty ties and Cool Whip containers. Even though we’ve moved my parents out of their home of 35 years and into an independent living apartment, I’m still trying to get my mom to pare down her collection of twisty ties and Styrofoam containers from the dining room.

While the story format of the book was engaging, if I used the book as a personal reference, having a more defined chapter listing (what topics each chapter covered) would have been very helpful.

Caregiving.com: How did you feel when you finished the book?
Ann: I felt supremely grateful that my parents saved my brother and me the burden of dealing with unresolved issues around their estate and their “stuff.” And I felt very sad and troubled about some of the stories Julie told about seniors being ripped off by their own children, neighbors and unscrupulous service providers. Greed is evidently alive and well in many families and communities.

Caregiving.com: As a family caregiver, what’s most useful to you about the book?
Ann: In addition to the general information Julie provides, she adds great checklists throughout the book that cover a variety of situations dealing with elders and their final years. She ensures you’re prepared to handle everything needed to resolve disposition of their estate. She also has highlighted sections throughout the book where she talks to parents, so it’s a book that can be read by adult children and their parents.

Caregiving.com: Would you recommend this book to other family caregivers? Why or why not?
Ann: If you have parents who are still living in the family home with years of accumulation, parents who haven’t written their wills and powers of attorney (both property and healthcare) and/or parents who may have valuables (either sentimental or monetary) that they haven’t formally designated distribution of, then this book is definitely for you!

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Tags: clutter, inheritance, moving, stuff