Edie - Excellent article! 100% agree that Being Mortal should be required reading! I listened to the audiobook while navigating dad’s final year and although he didn’t end up in assisted living I did find the suggestions about how to have end of life conversations incredibly useful. I recommend Being Mortal to all my friends who are caring for their parents and my students who are planning to go into medicine.
Good on you Marina! I am glad you had that during such a tough time, and that you are sharing it around. It is definitely top of my list for recommendations. I suspect someone recommended it to me when were were in the soup, and I forgot or blew it off. Oh well. Better late than never!
Yeah I really think that book should be required reading in every care facility and hospital. I can’t thank you enough for pointing me to it, even if I’m ten years late! It will for sure stay with me as a guide for the future.
Have you heard of dementia villages? I believe they began in the NL and may only be here still, but it’s an amazing concept where there’s a village with shops, restaurants, and even bus stops to allow people with dementia to live a completely independent (and still interesting) life within the village. I think my mom would still need the 24/7 companion/caregiver within it, but it seems really great! https://www.vox.com/videos/23311747/dementia-villages-elderly-care-senior-home
I just added Being Mortal to my list. Thanks, Edie!
Yes! That was my total fantasy. I mentioned them in Finding Home https://losingthemothership.substack.com/p/finding-home. The OG is in Holland but there is also a similar concept at an adult daycare facility in Chula Vista called Town Square. The entire facility replicates a small town in the ‘50’s with all the connections, activities and natural interactions you’d find there. I HOPE by now it has caught on here and there will be more like it.
Whoa! Thanks for the shoutout, Eddie! And I'm so glad you enjoyed the book!! It is super crappy that these methods aren't being implemented....and even if they were, in cases like yours, it wouldn't matter as much as things like proximity....I just enjoyed it as a thought-provoking piece on what's possible when it comes to elderly care. And a reminder that we can make it better with innovation; maybe it could be more accessible if ALL care facilities operated like this, for instance.
Even if it didn't apply to us for the assisted living piece the thoughts and conversations around end of life would have been so helpful for us as a family. And it's not like these issues go away in life! I'm so glad to have read it!
Edie - Excellent article! 100% agree that Being Mortal should be required reading! I listened to the audiobook while navigating dad’s final year and although he didn’t end up in assisted living I did find the suggestions about how to have end of life conversations incredibly useful. I recommend Being Mortal to all my friends who are caring for their parents and my students who are planning to go into medicine.
Good on you Marina! I am glad you had that during such a tough time, and that you are sharing it around. It is definitely top of my list for recommendations. I suspect someone recommended it to me when were were in the soup, and I forgot or blew it off. Oh well. Better late than never!
Yeah I really think that book should be required reading in every care facility and hospital. I can’t thank you enough for pointing me to it, even if I’m ten years late! It will for sure stay with me as a guide for the future.
Have you heard of dementia villages? I believe they began in the NL and may only be here still, but it’s an amazing concept where there’s a village with shops, restaurants, and even bus stops to allow people with dementia to live a completely independent (and still interesting) life within the village. I think my mom would still need the 24/7 companion/caregiver within it, but it seems really great! https://www.vox.com/videos/23311747/dementia-villages-elderly-care-senior-home
I just added Being Mortal to my list. Thanks, Edie!
Yes! That was my total fantasy. I mentioned them in Finding Home https://losingthemothership.substack.com/p/finding-home. The OG is in Holland but there is also a similar concept at an adult daycare facility in Chula Vista called Town Square. The entire facility replicates a small town in the ‘50’s with all the connections, activities and natural interactions you’d find there. I HOPE by now it has caught on here and there will be more like it.
Oh yeah, now I recall you mentioning that! I'll check the post again though. Yes, I HOPE so too.
Whoa! Thanks for the shoutout, Eddie! And I'm so glad you enjoyed the book!! It is super crappy that these methods aren't being implemented....and even if they were, in cases like yours, it wouldn't matter as much as things like proximity....I just enjoyed it as a thought-provoking piece on what's possible when it comes to elderly care. And a reminder that we can make it better with innovation; maybe it could be more accessible if ALL care facilities operated like this, for instance.
Even if it didn't apply to us for the assisted living piece the thoughts and conversations around end of life would have been so helpful for us as a family. And it's not like these issues go away in life! I'm so glad to have read it!
For sure! It's a spectacular introduction to this mortality awareness concept.