... New book features celebrity caregiver interviews, tips on conquering stress with Me Time Monday℠ weekly videos and other resources

Newswise — NEW YORK – When it comes to caring for older parents, an ill spouse, a special needs child or other loved ones, most caregivers navigate blindly not knowing where to turn or how to get help. According to Sherri Snelling, author of a new book, A Cast of Caregivers – Celebrity Stories to Help You Prepare to Care (Balboa Press), even those with famous names and faces struggle with the demands.

A noted national expert on family caregiving, Snelling shines the spotlight on a dilemma facing our nation: we are at the tipping point of having more parents and older family members to care for than young children and we need better preparation. More than 65 million Americans are caring for loved ones today – a number expected to almost double over the next 20 years as our society faces an increasingly older population with aging baby boomers and longer lifespans for those with chronic diseases and other disorders.

The book offers three distinct sections – the first features the author’s interviews with celebrities including Joan Lunden (Good Morning America), Holly Robinson Peete (21 Jump Street), Marg Helgenberger (CSI), Alana Stewart (friend of Farrah Fawcett), Alan and David Osmond (the Osmond family), Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker (L.A. Law), and Sylvia Mackey (NFL wife), sharing lessons learned through their caregiving experiences. The second section is the “what to expect when you’re caregiving” expert advice and information to help readers see the big picture of the caregiving role they face. The final section is dedicated to self-care advice and how to have the difficult caregiving conversation with a loved one.

The author also includes several chapters on how to conquer the caregiving traps of increased stress, burn-out, guilt and depression through the Me Time Monday℠ weekly videos in support of the non-profit Caregiver Monday (caregivermonday.org) initiative.

Throughout the book Snelling weaves together pop culture with the latest scientific and medical research data, and valuable resources. “As my caregiving blog began to get a lot of attention, I noticed the most-read articles were the ones featuring my celebrity interviews,” reflects Snelling. “Sharing the challenges and triumphs of celebrities in caregiving roles brings comfort and commonality to our nation’s family caregivers.”

Snelling continues, “I also know caregivers are not prepared for this role so I wanted to give them a helpful guide on what to expect. My book helps the reader understand their caregiving role better and why it’s important to avoid neglecting themselves when they step into the caregiving spotlight.”

Snelling adds she believes pop culture unites us – especially our entertainment sources such as high-profile people, movies and TV – and she feels this motif for the book helps address two overwhelming caregiver problems: the feeling they are alone and the need to identify as a caregiver. She hopes by reading the book and the celebrity stories, readers will see we are all in this cast of caregivers together.

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About the Author – Sherri Snelling Sherri Snelling, CEO and founder of the Caregiving Club (caregivingclub.com) and author of A Cast of Caregivers - Celebrity Stories to Help You Prepare to Care, is a nationally recognized expert on America’s 65 million family caregivers with special emphasis on how to help caregivers balance self-care while caring for a loved one. Snelling was recently recognized as one of the Top 10 Influencers on Alzheimer’s by Sharecare, the online health and wellness experts site created by Dr. Mehmet Oz. Snelling is the former Chairman of the National Alliance for Caregiving, the leading caregiving advocacy non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C.

Reaching more than eight million online readers every month, Snelling is a contributing editor and blogger on caregiving for Huffington Post, PBS/Next Avenue, MariaShriver.com, ThirdAge, Alzheimer’s Association, wowOwow, Caring.com, EmpowerHER, Living Better @ 50, Vibrant Nation and others. In addition, she is the executive producer and host of a caregiver self-help reality cable TV program, Handle With Care; creator of the Me Time Monday℠ weekly videos in support of Caregiver Monday, an initiative of the nonprofit Monday Campaigns.