Around the House

by Harriet Swenson

Be surprised by what home caregiving really means in this NH woman’s inspiring daily account, at times blunt, poetic, and humorous.

Four in 10 U.S. adults are now caring for a sick or elderly family member at home. 43.5 million adult family caregivers care for someone fifty years of age or older who is ill or who has a disability. Author Harriet K. Swenson—a former Addison-Wesley staffer, workshop leader and educator for the Congregational Church of New Hampshire, magazine columnist, fiber designer and quilter—writes eloquently, humorously and truthfully about caring for  her second husband at home after he was diagnosed with  terminal cancer and COPD. Remembering her “first class” second husband, David Swenson, a geologist from New Hampshire’s Swenson Granite family, Harriet’s essays provide a new look at love. From blunt to lyrical, factual to spiritual her short commentaries reveal the depth of self-discovery and the truth about a role generally ignored.  From mail-order meds and Yankee frugality, to the solace of quilting and rotten days, Harriet’s former residence in a Shaker community fosters a readiness to evaluate life experience against spiritual imperatives.

“The author has captured the truth that the caregivers need expressions of caring more than actual physical help.” - Anne Schultz, retired counselor and family caregiver

“A warm charming account . . . Her thoughts are insightful, provoking and fascinating. You will not put it down.” - Bert Whittemore

About the Author

Harriet K. Swenson is the author of Visible and Vital: A Handbook for the Aging Congregation (2000), and Quilting Cameos; 50 Meditations (1985). She is a graduate of Andover Newton Seminary with a master’s degree in Research. She is now in her eighties, a mother of three, grandmother of five, great-grandmother to four, and naps with her cat Mildred in Durham, New Hampshire.

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