FIGURE
Stories of Family Care-giving: Reconsiderations of Theory, Literature, and Life
S. Poirier & L. Ayres. Indianapolis, IN. Sigma Theta Tau International, 2002. 200 pp., $24.95. (888) 634-7575.
Exploring the experiences of women and men who provide long-term, life-sustaining care to family members, this interdisciplinary book is a must for all professionals. The text approaches the subject through stories from fiction, autobiography, and from interviews with family caregivers exploring their experiences in all their contradictions, hopes, and fears.
The authors place nurse theorists, feminist theorists, fiction writers, and caregivers in conversation with each other to illuminate human relationships we take for granted, but without which we cannot survive. This is a remarkable addition to the literature on care giving from two scholars who understand the power of narrative and interdisciplinary scholarship.