Around the House: One Woman Shares How Millions Care

Four in 10 U.S. adults are now caring for a sick or elderly family member at home. 43.5 million adult family caregivers care for someone fifty years of age or older who is ill or who has a disability. Author Harriet K. Swenson—a former Addison-Wesley staffer, workshop leader and educator for the United Church of Christ, magazine columnist, fiber designer and quilter—writes eloquently, humorously and truthfully about caring for her second husband at home after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and COPD. Remembering her “first class” second husband, David Swenson, a geologist from New Hampshire’s Swenson Granite family, Harriet’s essays provide a new look at love. From blunt to lyrical, factual to spiritual her short commentaries reveal the depth of self-discovery and the truth about a role generally ignored. From mail-order meds and Yankee frugality, to the solace of quilting and rotten days, Harriet’s former residence in a Shaker community fosters a readiness to evaluate life experience against spiritual imperatives.