Senior Management – Parenting My Parents

as they lose their capacity for autonomy. Like the sharpest of photographic lenses, her unflinching rendering of the details of daily life make it impossible to deny the difficulties that come with aging and the ways in which society is ill-equipped to handle them. Nonetheless, in this memoir filled with humour, compassion, and insight, we are all urged to do the best we can.

JULIE SEDIVY, JUDGE, NEW BRUNSWICK BOOK AWARDS 2022

to establish a more cohesive system for providing the best end-of-life care for our seniors. Martha Vowles has written a tender and heart-wrenching account of her experience navigating the many “systems” involved at that end-of-life care for our ageing population. Not only was she navigating all aspects of that care for her father and step-mother, but also she was doing it between two provinces which makes the job of advocate that much more difficult.

I was struck again and again at the disconnect between agencies that claim they are doing all they can to help families cope and manage this stage of life. Again and again, Martha ran into roadblocks and obstacles that threatened to overwhelm her in her pursuit of the best and safest care for her ageing parents.

Agencies and governments pay lip service to the “rights” of individuals to receive the best end-of-life care. What they fail to accomplish is a cohesive and coordinated plan to provide that care.

Martha Vowles shows this poignantly and incredibly sadly in this memoir. I admire the author’s strength under enormous pressure. As a society, we are abysmally failing our elderly population.

This book will make a helpful tool for anyone in the early stages of caring for an ageing parent. There are many considerations to be made and Martha explores many of them here. I would love to see this book in the staff rooms at care facilities and hope that people going into the geriatric field, in any capacity, might take the time to read this memoir. Insight and empathy are powerful tools and developing skills for both will make eldercare better in every way.

Thank you Martha Vowles for sharing your “heart work” and your family story. I am sure it was a difficult write, but rest assured your readers will be helped with your words.

LANA SHUPE

and even (occasionally) funny.

JANE DOUCET, AUTHOR OF FISHNETS & FANTASIES

at times of caring for elderly parents and how she managed with her own. This is told with a touch of humour and is extremely well written. It is easy to see why it is an award winning book. Well done Martha Vowles.

AMAZON.CA REVIEW

and I highly recommend it. Martha's writing is eloquent, descriptive and at times funny. The writing is rich and engaging—I was drawn to Martha's family and her plight from the beginning and I had a hard time putting it down. It is written with equal parts passion and honesty, pulling back the curtain on the harsh reality of caring for loved ones with dementia. It had all the feels. A fantastic read!

COLLEEN L, GOODREADS

in empathy for the author's experience. I am currently caring for my elderly mom so am reading everything I can get my hands on to help me navigate this choppy, yet rewarding, phase of my life. Being a care partner is a challenge and hearing of others' successes and missteps is encouraging and reassuring. Senior Management is a beautiful mash-up of funny scenes, slap your forehead moments (i.e. I sure won't do that...or I really must do that) and sad, hard to read realities of end of life scenarios. When the tables turn and roles are reversed, there's no Dr. Spock for the child who has become the parent, but this will give you some great insight. Even if you're not a care giver, this is a great read for anyone wanting a good 'family drama' laced with messy-life, dry humour.

ANNE, GOODREADS

of helping her parents age with dignity is both a reality check for seniors and their families, and an indictment of the broken systems in place for caring for the elderly. Martha’s strong confident, character, along with her organizational skills and background in Canadian healthcare gave her a decided edge navigating the services that sometimes fail to protect the vulnerable in their care.

Told with remarkable humour, grace and precision, she lays bare the difficulties faced by children today as they watch dementia gradually steal the vitality and vibrancy from beloved parents, forcing them to become both their caregivers and advocates—and often, as in Martha’s case, from afar. She does not scrimp on detail or gloss over her own conflicted feelings of love, anger and frustration. Those of us still to traverse this rocky journey are given the warning signs and the pitfalls to watch for, but most importantly, Martha also points out that angels and small blessings can always be found even along the most rugged and lonely roads. An excellent and enlightening read.

DEBCARR, GOODREADS

over an approximately ten year stretch caring for her father and stepmother as they gradually lost the battle with advancing dementia and battled other health issues. She gives an excellent description of their personalities as they were in their prime, as well as documenting the sad story of their gradual decline. However, there is humor as well in the description of the frequent battle of wills with two feisty and fiercely independent seniors who have trouble comprehending what is happening to them.

Great read. Often had you eager to turn the next page to see what else could possibly happen.

KATHLEEN, GOODREADS

As she navigates various programs, services and facilities designed to support our aging family members Martha uncovers that seniors aren’t receiving adequate care and sheds light on what can only be described as a systematic failure.

Martha takes the reader by the hand and jumps on the roller coaster journey of being a care giver to aging parents who are living with dementia. Martha is patient even when it is beyond challenging, loving and kind to her parents every frustrating step of the way, and above all supportive and determined to see to it that they are properly cared for from a province away. Martha tells this tale with a full dish of grace and a side of humour.

This is a must read for anyone who works in senior care, has a person they love who is entering the aging years or has been though a similar experience with a loved one. I couldn’t put this book down - it spoke straight to my heart after losing my grandmother recently and understanding all too well what Martha writes about.

M. IRWIN, GOODREADS

Martha's writing is eloquent, descriptive and at times funny. The writing is rich and engaging—I was drawn to Martha's family and her plight from the beginning and I had a hard time putting it down. It is written with equal parts passion and honesty, pulling back the curtain on the harsh reality of caring for loved ones with dementia. It had all the feels. A fantastic read!

C. LANDRY, GOODREADS

to establish a more cohesive system for providing the best end of life care for our seniors. Martha Vowles has written a tender and heart wrenching account of her experience navigating the many "systems" involved in that end of life care for our aging population. Not only was she navigating all aspects of that care for her father and step-mother, but also she was doing it between two provinces which makes the job of advocate that much more difficult.

I was struck again and again at the disconnect between agencies that claim they are doing all they can to help families cope and manage this stage of life. Again and again Martha ran into road blocks and obstacles that threatened to overwhelm her in her pursuit of the best and safest care for her aging parents.

Agencies and governments pay lip service to the "rights" of individuals to receive the best end of life care. What they fail to accomplish is a cohesive and co-ordinated plan to provide that care.

Martha Vowles shows this poignantly and incredibly sadly in this memoir. I admire the author's strength under enormous pressures. As a society we are abysmally failing our elderly population.

This book will make a helpful tool for anyone in the early stages of caring for an aging parent. There are many considerations to be made and Martha explores many of them here. I would love to see this book in the staff rooms at care facilities and hope that people going into the geriatric field, in any capacity, might take the time to read this memoir. Insight and empathy are powerful tools and developing skills for both will make elder care better in every way.

Thank you Martha Vowles for sharing your “heart work” and your family story. I am sure it was a difficult write, but rest assured your readers will be helped with your words.

ATLANTIC BOOK REVIEWS

to ensure that I was getting sufficient rest. I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially those like me who have had the challenge of dealing with close family members with Dementia or Alzheimer's. I had always said that having a good sense of humour is key and its importance is demonstrated in Martha's candid, heartwarming telling of this part of her life story.

BETTY ANN MALONEY