Stand By Me: A Guide to Navigating Modern, Meaningful Caregiving

“Warm, compassionate, and brimming with wisdom and expert advice” (Kate Washington, author of Already Toast), Stand By Me provides caregivers with new ways to juggle the responsibilities and emotional ups and downs of caregiving.

As the founder of the only devoted Caregivers Clinic in the country, clinical psychologist Dr. Allison Applebaum is no stranger to the intensity of being an unpaid, untrained family caregiver. She also understands that it is often the strength and well-being of these very caregivers—the parents, children, partners, siblings, and friends of patients—that are the true linchpin determining each patient’s illness experience.

Stand By Me puts the practical tools and transformative support of the Caregiver Clinic in your hands, empowering you to provide your loved one with the best quality of life and care possible, while promoting your own well-being. The book covers crucial topics including:
-Getting the most from any healthcare system
-Productive advance care planning
-Navigating changing roles and relationship dynamics
-Finding meaning and purpose in the caregiving experience

Stand By Me draws on more than a decade of clinical and research experience as well as Dr. Applebaum’s personal journey as the primary caregiver for her own father, legendary musician Stanley Applebaum, at the end of his life. Dr. Applebaum recognizes caregivers for who they truly are: invaluable healthcare team members. Offering critical insight and takeaways, Stand By Me is “a rich resource of invaluable information and expert advice for caregivers” (Dr. Kathleen M. Foley, Emeritus Professor of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College).

Allison J. Applebaum, PhD, is a clinical psychologist specializing in psycho-oncology, the field devoted to supporting the mental health of all individuals affected by cancer. She is an associate attending psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), and an associate professor of psychology in psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. Dr. Applebaum is the founding director of the Caregivers Clinic at MSK. The Caregivers Clinic was the first of its kind and provides targeted psychosocial support to caregivers—family members and friends—of patients receiving cancer care at MSK.