Synopses & Reviews
Living in the Land of Limbo is the first anthology of short stories and poems about family caregivers. These men and women find themselves in "limbo," as they struggle to take care of a family member or friend in the uncertain world of chronic illness. The authors explore caregivers' experiences as they deal with family conflicts, the complexities of the health care system, and the impact of their choices on their lives and the lives of others. The book includes selections devoted to caregivers of aging parents; husbands and wives; ill children; and relatives, lovers, and friends. A final section is devoted to paid caregivers and their clients. Among the conditions that form the background of the selections are dementia, HIV/AIDS, mental illness, multiple sclerosis, and pediatric cancer.
Many of the authors are well-known poets and writers, but others have not been published in mainstream media. They represent a range of cultural backgrounds. Although their works approach caregiving in very different ways, the authors share a commitment to emotional truth, unvarnished by societal ideals of what caregivers should feel and do. These stories and poems paint profoundly moving and revealing portraits of family caregivers.
Review
"...a provoking and delicate contemporary collection that showcases a variety of short fiction and poetry from some of the best writers..."
--Times Leader
Synopsis
A 2015 AAUP Books Committee -Outstanding- Title
Living in the Land of Limbo is the first anthology of short stories and poems about family caregivers. These men and women find themselves in -limbo, - as they struggle to take care of a family member or friend in the uncertain world of chronic illness. The authors explore caregivers' experiences as they deal with family conflicts, the complexities of the health care system, and the impact of their choices on their lives and the lives of others. The book includes selections devoted to caregivers of aging parents; husbands and wives; ill children; and relatives, lovers, and friends. A final section is devoted to paid caregivers and their clients. Among the conditions that form the background of the selections are dementia, HIV/AIDS, mental illness, multiple sclerosis, and pediatric cancer.
Many of the authors are well-known poets and writers, but others have not been published in mainstream media. They represent a range of cultural backgrounds. Although their works approach caregiving in very different ways, the authors share a commitment to emotional truth, unvarnished by societal ideals of what caregivers should feel and do. These stories and poems paint profoundly moving and revealing portraits of family caregivers.
Synopsis
The emotional truths of family caregivers, who can say and do things in fiction that they might not dare to say or do in real life
About the Author
Carol Levine directs the United Hospital Fund's Families and Health Care Project. She is a former editor of the Hastings Center Report. In 1993 she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for her work in AIDS policy and ethics. She edited Always On Call: When Illness Turns Families into Caregivers (2nd ed., Vanderbilt University Press, 2004).
Table of Contents
CONTENTSIntroduction
Carol Levine
PART I
Children of Aging Parents
Diem Perdidi
Julie Otsuka
Whosoever: The Language of Mothers and Sons
Rick Moody
The Third Dumpster
Gish Jen
Water
Li-Young Lee
Lucky
Tony Hoagland
Fathers and Sons
David Mason
Yesterday
W. S. Merwin
Ode to Meaning
Robert Pinsky
Buckdancer's Choice
James Dickey
Where the Groceries Went
Raymond Carver
PART II
Husbands and Wives
Mrs. Cassidy's Last Year
Mary Gordon
We Are Nighttime Travelers
Ethan Canin
The Ship Pounding
Donald Hall
The Sick Wife
Jane Kenyon
Alzheimer's: The Wife
Alzheimer's: The Husband
C. K. Williams
The Bear Came Over the Mountain
Alice Munro
Thoreau's Laundry
Ann Harleman
The Yawn
Rachel Hadas
Mrs. Dumpty
Visiting Hours Are Over
Chana Bloch
He Read to Her
Anne Brashler
PART III
Parents and Sick Children
How to Win
Rosellen Brown
People Like That Are the Only People Here
Lorrie Moore
Children's Ward
Sarah Day
Parents Support Group
Dick Allen
Starter
Amy Hanridge
PART IV
Relatives, Lovers, and Friends
The Closet
Allegra Goodman
The Caregiver
Eugenia Collier
Atlantis
Mark Doty
Oceanic Hotel, Nice
Tereze Gluck
PART V
Paid Caregivers
A Pension Plan
Ha Jin
A Bad Day for Pisces
Fran Pokras Yariv
Wheelchair
Lewis Nordan
God's Goodness
Marjorie Kemper
PART VI
Resources