Simple Lessons for a Better Life

March 23, 2015
Clinical psychologist Dodgen (Nicotine Dependence) shares some of the wisdom heâs learned while treating elderly patients, primarily in nursing homes. Each chapter presents a brief story, usually centered around his patients and accompanied by helpful explanations and suggested exercises. Dodgenâs lessons are diverse, discussing power of social community and religious practice and the importance of regular, low-impact exercise as both a solution to physical ill health and a coping mechanism in itself. But these solutions tend to be diffuse and poorly organized, and the stories that bolster them are thinly drawn. Dodgenâs book offers frequently good advice, yet its ultimate goal is unclear: Is it to live a better life for yourself? To care for your aging relatives with more sympathy? To learn how to accept aging gracefully? None of these approaches is covered sufficiently, no matter how sympathetic and sensible his lessons are. Agent: Joyce Hart, Hartline Literary Agency.

May 1, 2015
From working in a nursing home for 18 years, clinical psychologist Dodgen has picked up some unexpected life lessons as he's watched patients, caregivers, and family members interact. His advice covers a variety of common situations. Dodgen urges patients to be active architects of their own health plan and to look to a good dog as the best model for encouraging care from others. He warns caregivers to exhibit beneficence and not take things personally. He reminds family members that the young and the aged have much in common and that good caretaking sometimes means saying no. Each short chapter explains a concept, provides examples from the nursing home, and offers suggestions for applying the lessons to everyday life. Dodgen's conversational tone and personal anecdotes make his pointers thought-provoking without being preachy. Aimed at adult children and caregivers dealing with the elderly, this compilation of common sense and insight gently reminds readers to look for the feelings beneath the words and to read body language, which is darn good advice for any social interaction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)