This book is very raw and honest. It is very well written. The author manages to show what caring for someone is like. It is beautiful and painful

This was one hell of an emotional, difficult read highlighting the honest, raw truth of what it's like to be an unpaid carer to an elderly relative.

Now whilst the subject matter will resonate with a mass of people out there and needs to be spoken about and addressed more publicly I'll admit I did end up skim reading alot of it as it just seemed to drone on alot of the time,.

I felt some confusion throughout the whole book. Was it a woman writer writing as a man? Why wasn't the author identified?

I have real empathy and admiration for those caregivers that have to live through this every single day, it's not something that in all honesty I'm sure I could do and the fact that these caregivers are part of our hidden society makes my heart hurt.

One thing that shocked me but due to personal (through family) experience shouldn't have is the amount of anger that also comes as part of the package of being a carer.

It's definitely opened my eyes to a world that I knew little about or had even really thought about and has given me a better understanding of what may lie ahead one day.

2.5 rounded to 3

Thanks to netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

I have every empathy for the author. I am a professional Caregiver and that means I can build a relationship with the person I work with, I can want the best for them, enjoy the time I spend with them but ultimately I go home at the end of the day. I have all the patience in the world for those people who need my support but that is because I haven't got the emotional attachment a child has - this book is interesting from that perspective - I have every admiration for every person who cares for a loved one.

I found this book hard to get into at first, some of the language used I found quite difficult to understand (but that could very well be my own lack of understanding) but the book itself is insightful and thought provoking. As a carer myself I found it an important read

As an adult involved in caring for an elderly mother I could.identify with much in this book. Not always easy reading but insightful and worthwhile.

This book is an open, honest and frank illustration of life as an unpaid (sometimes called an informal carers).
This would be a good book for all of us to read to gather a better understanding of what it means to become a carer for someone that you have already had a loving relationship with. The duality of caring about someone and also having to care for them can be incredibly challenging and a real emotional rollercoaster. It would be good for more people to have some awareness of what that’s like, and this book captures some of those things really well.
My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review

Such a well crafted novel, compelling enough to pull you through and very quick read. I enjoyed it so much from the first page till the end

I struggled to settle into to The Reluctant carer but once I did I found it an important and poignant read.

The Reluctant Carer is a stark, honest and well written memoir about caring for ageing parents. It's a book filled with compassion, humour and emotion and highlights the unpaid carers in society who are ignored and taken for granted by our government.
As someone who has never been in this position I was grateful to the author for sharing their story.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

The reluctant carer gives the reader a stark, realistic, no holds barred view of being a carer and the physical and emotional toll it takes!
Caring for an aging, infirm loved one is such a privilege but one of the hardest things you can ever do, support is sparse, erratic and fraught with complications, not to mention expensive If you are self funding, you gain much in the way of medical knowledge, bodily functions and the never ending,ever changing condition of your loved one.
Family dynamics change as you are no longer just a son or daughter but a carer and this is illustrated so well in this book, an enlightening read that really highlights a carers lot!
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

The Reluctant Carer is a memoir about the harsh realities of an adult child being involved in caring for ageing parents.

The reluctant carer takes on the care of his parents in his forties, and after his divorce.
What follows will be familiar to many people who have been propelled into parental care: love, exasperation and ineptitude in a heady brew.
The reluctant carer is always honest and always humorous. We get to know his parents and his siblings, and are with him during the hospital stays and the ups and downs as his dad’s health steadily declines.
It is to the writer’s credit that we feel for all concerned including his dad who is desperate not to go into a care home.
Recommended: a touching and honest memoir that will appeal to anyone who has had ageing parents!

The reluctant carer is a non fiction book written by someone who as an adult needs to move in with elderly parents to care for them. It’s unflinching and hugely relatable to many. It’s a difficult read at times but very worthwhile.

The Reluctant Carer

It's hard to say you have enjoyed this title , not because of the way the author has written it , it has been written with great compassion and honesty .
I among many others have chosen this book because we have walked a mile in those shoes and want to see how others have coped with that journey.
A great book full of humour , tears and frustration , and at all times , great emotions.