Add These to Your Fall Reading List

Navigating the health care system can often be daunting. Below are four books that might provide a bit of hope amid the chaos. From accessible health care to the journey of being a caregiver, we’ve got your fall reading lined up. 

No Way Out of This

By Sue Fagalde Lick

More than 6 million Americans, including one in three seniors, suffer from dementia. Add in the spouses, siblings, adult children and professionals responsible for their care, and we all have a stake in this story. 

But “No Way Out of This” is not about a noble, self-sacrificing wife who gives up everything to take care of her husband. We see those spouses in romanticized books and movies—but they’re not telling the whole story. Nobody’s that good. 

When Sue Lick’s husband’s charming forgetfulness worsened into dementia, she traded her life of writing, music and travel with the love of her life for years of caregiving, guilt and impossible decisions.

“No Way Out of This” is not just about Alzheimer’s. It’s about mental illness, taking care of beloved pets in the chaos, the trials of marriage, examining your support system (or lack of one) and love stories that don’t end happily ever after. It’s the real story.

Purchase the book here: shewritespress.com/product/no-way-out-of-this

Hope Givers: Conversations and Stories of Hope

By Jodi O’Donnell-Ames

In her new book, “Hope Givers: Conversations and Stories of Hope,” Jodi O’Donnell-Ames takes readers inside her own deeply emotional journey through caregiving, loss, grief and those hardest, ubiquitous lessons of adult life. 

O’Donnell-Ames lost her 36-year-old husband, Kevin O’Donnell, to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in 2001. Part memoir, part exploration into the essence of hope in a life touched by a terminal illness, and part inspirational conversations drawn from her “Gratitude to Latitude” podcast, “Hope Givers” is a raw, unfiltered look that focuses on O’Donnell-Ames’ successes while acknowledging her failures and shortcomings with candor. 

Along the way, thought leaders, mental health professionals, and friends whose wisdom and perspectives bring valuable lessons and comfort share their helpful insights. 

“Somewhere among these pages, you will find a moment of connection and insight,” she said. “It’s an indisputable truth that while life is complicated and difficult, hope is reserved for each and every one of us.”

Purchase the book here: amazon.com/dp/B0D1SLSXQN

Here Be Dragons: One Man’s Quest to Make Healthcare More Accessible and Affordable

By Web Golinkin

In his new book “Here Be Dragons: One Man’s Quest to Make Healthcare More Accessible and Affordable,” Web Golinkin shares his experiences and the lessons he has learned while leading health care companies that offer urgent, walk-in and telehealth care. 

Golinkin, who has been CEO of six companies over the last 35 years, including FastMed and RediClinic, also offers a prescription for the future.

In this book, readers will learn that some of the ways to make health care more accessible and affordable include:

• Encouraging insurance companies to embrace telehealth
• Offering more urgent and primary care at the same location
• Addressing the administrative costs of a free-market approach to healthcare
• Improving efficiency by making patient medical records more seamless and eliminating needless duplication of tests

Purchase the book here: webgolinkin.com/book

A Dementia Caregiver Called to Action: The Journey

By Macie Smith

After caring for her grandmother, who had dementia, it was important for Dr. Macie Smith to share what she learned with other families to spare them from the struggle to find basic information on optimal care. 

Her new book, “A Dementia Caregiver Called to Action: The Journey,” is a concise yet comprehensive resource designed to address common questions and offer valuable insights throughout the caregiving journey.

In her book, Smith takes readers through the logical progression of a dementia care experience, beginning with how to recognize potential symptoms before the diagnosis and what questions to ask the individual’s primary care physician. She then describes what to expect after a dementia diagnosis, answers common questions and details a range of care options available to dementia patients.

Although there’s not a cure for progressive types of dementia, like Alzheimer’s, there is care—your care. So, here’s to getting ahead of the journey.

Purchase the book here: drmaciesmith.com/#buythebook