09/12/2026
At Helping Hands@Home, we love sharing resources with our clients and their families. There are so many wonderful books available that share different journeys of aging parents and caregiving.
This book, “Holding the Net: Caring for my Mother on the Tightrope of Aging” by Melanie P. Merriman, was an excellent read. It is perfect for those currently navigating the sandwich years, taking care of both their own families and aging parents.
I’d love to share a short portion of the foreword by author Ann Hood. It reads as follows:
“Sixteen years after the phone call bringing the news that her father had died, Merriman’s mother died at the age of ninety-four. This is the story of those years. It is the story of mothers and daughters. It is the story of aging in America today. It is the story of failures and successes in the decisions required to help someone age well. Most importantly, it is not the story of just one mother and her daughters. It is all of our stories - ones already lived, or ones midstream, or ones about to happen. Read Melanie Merriman’s words for validation, for forgiveness, for guidance, for hope. The tightrope of aging contains all of these, and more. This book will hold your hand on that tightrope.”
