Official Review: With Each Passing Moment

[Amheiser]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "With Each Passing Moment" by Shirley Leonard.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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“With Each Passing Moment – Help and Hope for Caregivers”, is a non-fiction book written by Shirley E. Leonard. The book is part devotional, part memoir, and is a very helpful guide for anyone dealing with the care of an elderly person. Shirley Leonard is a pastor’s wife who spends some of her time supporting her and her husband’s fellow church members while they try to cope with problems in their lives, including caring for their elderly parents. Leonard has also taken care of both of her own parents, as well as her husband’s parents, so her first-hand experiences amply qualify her to write this book on caregiving.

Leonard states in her book that, “Sometimes we enter the realm of caregiving little by little, or maybe a crisis lands us there with a thump with very little warning.” She writes that she and her husband have experienced both, and she offers supportive help whatever the case may be. One of the most useful suggestions she makes in this book is that a caregiver should have a journal to write in every day to keep track of day to day medical information, and also to record memories from childhood experiences with the parent. Leonard suggests asking questions to prompt recollections that parents may have from times when their families were younger, and recording those in the journal. Leonard also used her journal to write down ways that she found to cope with overwhelming situations that she, as a caregiver, found herself in.

This book is based on a hymn Leonard found entitled, “Day by Day and With Each Passing Moment,” written by Karolina Sandell-Berg, who wrote the poem to help her cope with the loss of her father. Each line of the poem is the basis for a section of the book. The sections are each about a troubling emotion a person might encounter in their caregiving experience. They begin with a line of the poem and a helpful religious reference that pertains to that emotion. Then, Leonard tells of different experiences she has dealt with and how she handled them. She also recalls memories from her life experiences that relate to that particular emotion, and ends each section with another religious reference and what she calls, “Shirl’s Sanity Savers.” These “sanity savers” tell about the kinds of things that she found helpful in handling that emotion. The sections are arranged alphabetically by emotion to make it easy to use the book as a reference. The book helps with learning new skills to cope with unfamiliar situations. Another one of Leonard’s good tips is that a person should never be afraid to ask for help when they are in situations that they find they aren’t able to handle themselves.

I wish that I had found this book to help me with my experience as a caregiver. I think that somehow this book should find its way into the hands of caregivers everywhere, maybe through doctors’ offices or nursing homes or churches. It is definitely written from a religious viewpoint, as the author is a pastor’s wife, but even for a person who isn’t a religious type, there is a lot of useful information.

I would rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars. It is an excellent book, whose target audience is caregivers everywhere, and could also include anyone who knows someone who has ended up in the daunting world of caregiving. It is an interesting read, as well as being very informative, well-written and well-organized. For caregivers, this is an excellent book to refer to as you look for information in your caregiving experience. For people who know caregivers, this is a good book to read to make yourself useful to a friend who is a caregiver. Leonard makes the reading interesting through her writing and by relating memories from her personal experiences. This book is very encouraging, which is something that caregivers need.

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With Each Passing Moment
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Like Amheiser's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Wasif Ahmed]

An insightful and well written review but i don't think I need this book.
Congratulations to the author on getting the highest possible rating!?

[Amheiser]

Thank you for the positive comments on this review. This is a very good book to read if you ever know someone who is a caregiver, however, I'm happy to know that you don't need this book at this time.

[kandscreeley]

Lovely review. It sounds like a very helpful book. I could have used that book a few months ago.

[Amheiser]

This is a very helpful book to read if you are ever in the position of caring for an older person, or know any person who is a caregiver. I hope people spread the word about this book so everyone can get the courage and encouragement they need to take on this daunting role and know they are not alone.

[kimmyschemy06]

Sounds like a great book, helpful and informative. I believe that any of us may, one way or another, find himself/herself in a situation where he/she has to take care of an elderly he/she cares about and this book seems like a great reference. Great job on the review. Congratulations to Shirley Leonard on such an obviously well written book.

[Amheiser]

This book does have some very helpful information. I agree with you when you say that at some point almost everyone will need to find information to help them navigate this very perplexing problem and I believe this book can help.

[Elaine5]

Sounds like a book that would be useful to many people. How nice that it's written in such a way that it can be easily referenced. Thanks for this review and congratulations to the author.

[Amheiser]

I thought that the organized way that this book is set up is especially useful for someone in a caregiving position because as anyone in that position knows, it's a time when there is a lot of doubt and maybe confusion as to what is the best course of action. The author makes it very easy to find suggestions and help for your doubts.

[Frank the Asset]

The book is part
devotional, part memoir, and is a very helpful
guide for anyone dealing with the care of an
elderly person.

Caregiving must be a challenging job to get used to once you start with it. Readers interested in this or who are already busy with it should definitely take a look at it. Your review of this book is stellar. The author should be proud.

[bookowlie]

Great review! The book sounds very useful for caregivers, who generally have a stressful job.