Surviving Dependence

Book excerpt: To date there has not been a clear look at the home care experience of older African Americans. "Surviving Dependence: Voices of African American Elders" attempts to meet the need for recording and interpreting the ordinary life of elderly African Americans on their own terms, in their own surroundings, and in so far as possible, in their own words. Ball and Whittington's research is unique in two ways: it focuses on older people who are African American and poor, and it describes the viewpoint of care recipients and their relationships with the public programs designed to help them. This book provides an in-depth view of the experiences of these seven frail elders as both care receivers and as active participants in their own care. The two primary themes the significant disabilities that often accompany old age and the tenacious will and ability to cope possessed by our informants are reflected in the title: "Surviving Dependence."