The Caregiver's Tao Te Ching: Compassionate Caring for Your Loved Ones and Yourself

This book of meditations guided me through really difficult times of caregiving for my mother. This little book was so instrumental in my personal development that every time I saw a caregiver I handed my copy to them on the spot. This happened over and over and over... my mother recently passed and I had the privilege to read the last few meditations while she was in hospice.This book is conveniently designed to fit into any bag or glove compartment. I would open it at random and the message seemed to be what I needed for that moment... except the last few meditations. I intentionally chose to read those assuming the messages were going to apply. Spoiler alert... they applied. 🙏

As a hospital chaplain (five units of CPE) and former hospice volunteer, I have read a LOT of books on caregiving. This is my favorite. I used to read one entry every morning for years. I had drifted away from that, but now that I am back in my hometown helping to care for my parents as both head toward the end of their lives, the lessons of this wonderful gem of a book are uppermost in my mind. I ordered another copy so that I can return to reading it daily while I am here with my parents.

"Seeking refuge in what iswe find relief from all our struggles."This is so brilliantly written and so heartfelt, that I have given away nearly a dozen copies to friends and colleagues. ***LOVE*** this book!

This is a beautiful support for caregivers. I encourage buying one for any you know, and one for yourself.This is an exquisite jewel, of the use, comfort and accessibility of the Tao. Brilliant.

I am a caregiver, yoga and meditation teacher, and previously a long time hospice volunteer. I was given this book as a gift from a fellow hospice volunteer. I love this little jewel of a book. It brings comfort, inspiration, and relief in the sometimes challenging work of doing my best to hold a safe space for someone in my care who is aging, ill, mentally declining , or dying. I have referred friends to this book, and given it as gifts to others who care for their loved ones, as a way of assisting the caregivers that I know. This book is a reminder of the preciousness of each life, one moment, each day, every breath, that we may let go of our agenda in offering care, that we may allow for the natural flow of life to be experienced.

Best book I ever had on coping and thriving as a caregiver. The only thing is that the TAO is unfamiliar to me in my Christian tradition and I needed to look up TAO to see what it meant (source of all good, path of goodness) and now I can "read" this as God. Use it in my counseling business too with clients who are in committed relationships with people who have chronic physical and mental illnesses. Excellent!!!

Buy several copies...just to have on handas more of us needto hold each other during the long good byesKeep it in the glove compartmentand read a thought before seeing that friendin the nursing home, or the one home fromsurgery, or the one whose loved one doesn'tknow them any more...pen a line or two to a card... and send itleave it on a table in a waiting roomleave another if it is gone the next timeyou come by...urban dictionary defines Tao Te Ching as A short and simple textthat promotes peace, simplicity, and the power of nature.it is a description of the format used.Simple... very brief... yet layered...and as universal as a river or a cloud passing by.

William and Nancy Martin have done an excellent job of placing some of the ancient wisdom of Tao into a compassionate, hands-on little book that is meaningful to caregivers as well as informing the important aspects of caring for others. In the light of 15 years of Stephen's Ministry I relate to just about every one of the 81 poems. Time and time again I say, "yes, they have hit the nail on the head". They write from practical experience with caring for loved ones. I have purchased copies for each member of our church's Care Team as well as finding myself rereading and reflecting often.

I already have a few of William Martin's interpretations of the Tao Te Ching, and I recommend all of them. I have my personal preference in "A Path and a Practice......". But this version also speaks to the situation that many of us find ourselves as carers for others. It helps us acknowledge the difficulties in us - the anger, impatience and resentments we experience - and to use these as part of our practice.