The Person Beside the Bed

Encouragement for the Informal Caregiver

Jo Angelia Simpson

No one really thinks about the person beside the bed. The caregiver is like an empty chair—visitors focus on the person in the bed, and the caregiver becomes invisible.

In the United States today more than fifty million family caregivers provide an average of thirty-seven billion hours of unpaid, informal care per year for adult family members, children, and friends with chronic illnesses or conditions. Family caregivers log in from twenty-one to eighty or more hours a week, and many do not get consistent help from other family members. Informal caregiving on an extended basis can become extremely stressful and tiring. So here’s the question:

who is caring for the caregiver in your life ? Caregivers desperately need to be care receivers too. But what can you do to support, relieve, and assist the person in your life—the one who is giving so much? In The Person Beside the Bed, author Jo Simpson speaks from extensive personal experience as a caregiver, offering practical, down-to-earth lessons and resources to bolster the physical and emotional needs of informal caregivers, including these excellent features:

An informative glossary of terms that caregivers encounter
A collection of selected scriptures to uplift and encourage caregivers
A researched list of online links to valuable websites and other helpful materials

The fact is, at some point you—as a daughter, son, husband, wife, grandchild, niece, nephew, or friend—are likely to become an informal caregiver for someone you love too. And this well-packed, helpful book can be your best friend on the journey. Get it. Use it. Read it and reap!