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Managing The Stress ~ Making The Decisions ~ Discovering The Meaning |
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Caregiving |
Solutions To Your Caregiving Situations Throughout Your Caregiving Years |
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(Each month, we take a closer look at an aspect of your caregiving experience. In November, we ask the question: "What are the traits of a successful caregiver?") Your Caregiving Successes: Your Words Measure Your Success Success: We know how to measure a successful career, a successful relationship, a successful sports team. How do we measure our caregiving success? In this issue, we offer the perspectives of family caregivers as well as health care professionals about this very question: What are characteristics and traits that make a family caregiver successful? You’ll read from current family caregivers, former family caregivers and family caregivers who also work as professionals in the aging field. Their quotes may resonate with you; you may feel that their experiences echo yours. You may gain some ideas, find another perspective, realize an area that you would like to improve. And, you may feel as if you are looking in a mirror: A successful family caregiver is the first to recognize another. As I was working on this issue, I was reminded of two classes I attended last year through the Chicago Humanities Festival, an annual two-week event held at various venues in down Chicago. Well-known professionals participate in the festival, invited to speak about their areas of expertise, whether that be humanities or science. I attended talks given by Toni Morrison about her book, “Love”, and a talk given by a Alex Kotlowitz, author of “There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America”, and his editor Nan Talese, senior vice president, Doubleday. In their talks, the three could not help but touch on what they believe led to their success. Morrison explained the success of her novels this way: “If I can ask the right questions, the rest comes.” Morrison writes in order to answer a question she has about our perspectives on race, about our country’s civil rights history, about our reliance on certain relationships. In his book, “There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America”, Kotlowitz writes of the horrors of living in a housing project in a Chicago neighborhood. The book, born of an article he penned for the Wall Street Journal, often reaps reviews such as, “The best book I’ve ever read.” But, finding a publisher wasn’t a slam dunk for Kotlowitz; he was rejected by several publishers and retains the pile of rejection letters as proof. “Success,” he says, “is the best revenge.” Nan Talese spoke of the editor’s role in bringing the author’s best work to the surface. She spoke of the importance of the author’s voice—and being true to that voice. Their observations about their success offer lessons for us. When we know what questions to ask, we find the answers; when we know what we’re looking for, we find it; and, with belief in our own abilities and in our voice, we find our success—-however we define it. Index of Articles |
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