Winner of the American Journal of Nursing 2025 Award for Best Consumer Health Book

From the authors of AARP Meditations for Caregivers

If you’re among the millions of people annually who take on the role of providing unpaid care to family, friends, or neighbors, you are sure to face tough questions. That is why The AARP Caregiver Answer Book is for you!

BUY NOW!

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Winner of the American Journal of Nursing 2025 Award for Best Consumer Health Book

From the authors of AARP Meditations for Caregivers

If you’re among the millions of people annually who take on the role of providing unpaid care to family, friends, or neighbors, you are sure to face tough questions. That is why The AARP Caregiver Answer Book is for you!

BUY NOW!

Amazon
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“Expert authors address practical challenges—like how to prevent falls, find home health or respite care, and deal with Medicaid—and emotional challenges, like conflicts with family members and overwhelming pressures. The book describes helpful resources that many caregivers never learn about, such as financial planners, and offers tips you might not have considered. As a caregiver, you need to handle problems you have never faced before, and that your friends, family, and even physicians may not understand. This book is an invaluable resource to read from cover to cover or to hunt for solutions to unexpected problems.”

—William E. Haley, PhD, Distinguished University Professor, School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida

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“Whether you’ve been caring for a loved one for years, you’re just getting started, or you think you may need to do it soon, The AARP Caregiver Answer Book is invaluable, comforting, and illuminating. Drs. Jacobs and Mayer brilliantly mix insights from clinical practice and research with their own challenging experiences taking care of their parents. An indispensable resource.”

—Stephen Fried, coauthor of Profiles in Mental Health Courage

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“This book tackles important but often unspoken aspects of caregiving, including anger, exhaustion, and resentment, let alone the loss of a close relationship. Having recently lost my spouse, I found the sections on caring for partners and the chapter on death and grief particularly impactful—they reflected my own experiences in a way few resources have. The book addresses so many critical topics in one place. It offers small, achievable actions to help maximize your loved one’s independence and dignity while protecting yourself from burnout.”

—Suzanne D., Philadelphia

The AARP Caregiver Answer Book gives you insight and answers to many tough questions.

If you’re among the millions of people annually who take on the role of providing unpaid care to family, friends, or neighbors, you are sure to face tough questions.

How do I coordinate the care my loved one needs? How can I get other relatives to pitch in? Who pays for all this? Husband-and-wife psychologists Barry J. Jacobs and Julia L. Mayer—who have counseled family caregivers for over 30 years and cared for their own aging parents for a decade—have answers. Written in a Q&A format, this easy-to-navigate guide is packed with information, problem-solving and coping ideas, resources, stories, and communication tips. Drs. Jacobs and Mayer compassionately address everything you need to know to help your parent, spouse, or other care receiver. From managing family conflicts to hiring aides to optimizing end-of-life care, this is a book to return to at every step of the journey.

Go to The Book Page

About The Authors

Julia L. Mayer, PsyD & Barry J. Jacobs, PsyD

Julia L. Mayer, PsyD

Julia is a clinical psychologist and has been doing individual and couples’ therapy for more than a quarter century.  Her busy full-time private practice in Media, PA, specializes in women’s issues, including relationship concerns, sexual abuse, eating disorders, caregiving, and aging. She is the author of the novel, A Fleeting State of Mind (2014) and has a weekly psychology and social justice podcast, Shrinks on Third (www.shrinksonthird.com).

Barry J. Jacobs, PsyD

Barry is a clinical psychologist, family therapist, and healthcare consultant. A former journalist, he is the author of The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers (2006) and has written a self-help column for caregivers on the AARP website since 2013. He also maintains a virtual and in-person psychotherapy practice in Media, PA. He was previously a faculty member in a family medicine residency program and held adjunct faculty positions with the Temple University School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and the Department of Psychology of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Go to Author Page

Also by Julia and Barry

Some of our articles, accolades and appearances can be found here!

Media Page