Bringing together the human story of care with its representation in film, fiction and memoir, this book combines an analysis of care narratives to inform and inspire ideas about this major role in life. Alongside analysis of narratives drawn from literature and film, the author sensitively interweaves the story of his wife's illness and care to illuminate perspectives on dealing with human decline. Examining texts from a diverse range of authors such as Leo Tolstoy, Edith Wharton and Alice Munro, and filmmakers such as Ingmar Bergman and Michael Haneke, it addresses questions such as why caregiving is a dangerous activity, the ethical problems of writing about caregiving, the challenges of reading about caregiving, and why caregiving is so important. It serves as a fire starter on the subject of how we can gain insight into the challenges and opportunities of caregiving through the creative arts.

Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Idealized Caregiver in Tolstoy's The Death Of Ivan Ilych 2. Caregivers as Prisoners For Life in Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome 3. Unmasking the Caregiver in Ingmar Bergman's Persona 4. The Caregiver as Matchmaker in Alice Munro's "The Bear Came Over The Mountain" and Sarah Polley's Away From Her 5. Caregiving Strategies For Survival in John Bayley's Elegy For Iris, Iris And Her Friends, and Widower's House 6. A Few True Things About Caregiving in Anna Quindlen's One True Thing 7. The Avenging Caregiver in Mary Gordon's Circling My Mother 8. Murderous Caregiving in Michael Haneke's Amour 9. The Divine Gift Of Caregiving in Walter Mosley's The Last Days Of Ptolemy Grey 10. Caregiving as a Progress Narrative in Margaret Morganroth Gullette's Writings 11. Caregivers Struggling to Make the Right Decisions in Atul Gawande's Being Mortal Conclusion: Caregiving: A Beautiful Story? Works CitedIndex