We’re Stronger than We Look

Book excerpt: Caregiver, are you overwhelmed? Do you secretly (or not so secretly) have bouts of despair, bitterness, and even hopelessness? As a caregiver, you run the risk of disappearing. Your time goes overwhelmingly to the needs of your loved one. Relationships get strained, and challenges and anxieties are difficult to articulate. It’s easier to just keep your head down and do what must be done. What’s more, you probably didn’t sign up for this role or train for it. And yet here you are, reliving the trauma that got you here, providing support you didn’t know you had in you to give, struggling with fatigue, making critical, life-altering decisions, and yearning for the community you had that has changed or disappeared. As a caregiver, do you ever wonder: Where did everybody go? Why can’t I do a better job? Am I a complete failure? How can I keep up this level of care without exhausting myself? Rich in stories, threaded with humor, and unflinchingly real, We’re Stronger than We Look is a safe place for you to process the life you’ve been given, to accept that it’s okay not to have it all together, and to be inspired about your caregiving role—even while recognizing the need to take care of yourself as well.